BX  9178  .B8  G57 

Burrell,  David  James,  1844[ 

1926. 
God  and  the  people,  and 


God  and  the  People 


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GOD 

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GOD  AND  THE  PEOPLE  \ 


And   Other   Sermons 


BY 


David  James  Burrell,   D.D. 

Pastor  of  the  Collegiate  Church  at  Fifth  Avenue  and  29th  Street, 
New  York 


NEW   YORK 

WILBUR    B.    KETCHAM 

7  and  9  West  Eighteenth  Street 


Copyright,  1899 

EY 

WILBUR    B.    KETCHAM 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

God  and  the   People 7 

The  Lord's  Horses  and  Chariots          ....  21 

Offended  in  Christ 31 

The  Great  Day 41 

Peter's  Fall 52 

How  Felix  Lost  His  Opportunity        ....  62 

The  Secret  of  Power 74 

America  for  Christ 85  ,. 

The  Ethical  Imperative 96  . 

Don't  Worry 105 

The  Twelve          . 116 

At  the  Water  Gate 127 

At  the  Threshold  of  Joseph's  House      .         .        .         .139 

The  Brevity  of  Life 149 

The  Delays  of  Providence 158  -j 

What  is  That  to  Thee? 167 

Rhoda,  the  Gatekeeper 178 

The  Marks  of  the  Lord  Jesus 189 

Silence  in  Heaven 199 

Where  the  Paths  Meet,  She  Standeth      .         .         .  209 

Was  Christ  a  Christian? 220 

(5) 


6  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

The  Sovereignty  of  God 230 

Mint,  Anise  and  Cummin 240 

The  First  Easter  Sermon 252 

The  Great  Law  of  Christ 264 

The  Logic  of  Events 274   I 

Peter's  Salutatory 287 

Three  Hundred  Years 297 

The  Forbidden  Fruit 310 

At  their  Wits'  End 32° 

Indifferent  Gallio 330 

The  Battle  of  the  Two  Wills             ....  341 


GOD  AND  THE  PEOPLE. 

"  Let  the  people  praise  thee,  O  God  ;  let  all  the  people  praise  thee." — 
Psalm  67,  5. 

In  a  bay  window  overlooking  the  Strand  in  London 
sat  Thomas  Carlyle,  pen  in  hand  and  eyes  upon  the 
madding  crowd.  "There  are  in  the  world,"  he 
wrote,  "about  thirteen  hundred  millions  —  mostly 
fools."  He  was  not  far  amiss  ;  only  he  should  have 
added,  Quorum  pars  magna  fui. 

These  are  the  People:  Immortal  men  and  women 
jostling  one  another  along  the  busy  ways;  intent  on 
getting  together  a  little  yellow  dust,  chasing  butter- 
flies and  thistle-down,  grasping  at  laurel  wreaths; 
men  and  women  "with  the  geometry  of  heaven  in 
their  brain  and  the  unfathomable  galaxies,"  born  of 
God  and  bound  for  immortality,  killing  time,  caviling 
at  destiny,  flinging  opportunity  to  the  left  hand  and 
high  privilege  to  the  right;  their  eyes  hot  with  pas- 
sion and  brows  scarred  by  the  plowshare  of  vain  chas- 
tisement; blind  to  yesterday  and  reckless  of  to-mor- 
row, ever  furnishing  forth  the  wedding  feast  with 
the  baked  meats  of  the  last  funeral;  wielding  the  lash 
or  cringing  under  it;  leading  the  rattling  chariots  to 
death,  or  following  in  chains;  singers  and  dancers; 

(7) 


8  GOD    AND    THE    PEOPLE. 

kings  and  potentates;  misers  with  muckrakes,  profli- 
gates scattering  ill-gotten  gains  ;  the  Upper  Ten- 
thousand  treading  on  the  heels  of  the  Submerged 
Tenth,  and  the  Third  Estate  bearing  the  burdens  of 
both;  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men — reeling,  stag- 
gering, jostling — "mostly  fools";  fools  who,  "for- 
ever hastening  to  the  grave,  stoop  downward  as  they 
run."     And  we,  alas!  among  them. 

Who  cares  ?  God  cares.  The  philanthropist  who 
leaves  him  out  of  the  reckoning  is  an  arch-witling. 
God  knows  the  People,  sees  their  Mardi-gras  of  folly, 
pities  their  sorrows,  and  contemplates  an  ultimate 
deliverance.  The  Problem  of  History  is  before  us: 
he  alone  interprets  the  logic  of  events.  What  seems 
a  topsy-turvy  world  to  us  is  calm  evolution  to  him. 
We  are  impatient  for  the  consummation :  "  How  long, 
O  Lord !  "     But  the  eternal  years  are  his. 

There  is  said  to  be  a  focal  point  above  us  where 
earth's  discords  blend  in  harmony.  The  clang  of  the 
workshop  and  the  confused  noise  of  battle,  hosannas, 
misereres,  moans  of  the  death-chamber  and  midnight 
carousals,  children's  prattle  and  kings'  manifestoes — 
all  combine  in  one  harmonic  chord.  At  that  high 
center  is  God's  throne.  There  is  the  viewpoint  from 
which  he  surveys  the  procession  of  the  ages  and 
sends  forth  edicts  that  make  for  the  final  restitution 
of  all  things. 

To  leave  him  out  of  our  social  science  is  to  run 
without  a  message;  to  undertake  any  reform  without 
him  is  to  ensure  a  fiasco.  To  profess  God  and  then 
reduce  him  to  a  practical  nonentity,  as  Law,  or  All- 
pervading  Force,  or  A-Something-not-ourselves-that- 
maketh-for-righteousness,  is  to  juggle  with  words. 


GOD    AND    THE    PEOPLE.  9 

"The  Specter  saith,  '  I  wait !' 
And  at  the  last  it  beckons,  and  they  pass  ; 
And  still  the  red  sands  fall  within  the  glass, 
And  still  the  hands  around  the  dial  sweep  ; 
And  still  the  water-clock  doth  drip  and  weep  ; 
And  that  is  all !  " 

Is  that  all  ?  Nay,  our  God  has  eyes  to  see,  a 
heart  to  pity  and  almighty  arms  to  save.  He  cares 
for  the  People,  for  the  surging  multitude.  Better 
still,  he  cares  for  every  one.  He  calleth  them  by 
name.  He  numbereth  the  very  hairs  of  their  heads. 
And  in  this  he  is  no  respecter  of  persons.  Purple 
and  homespun  are  alike  to  him.  A  man's  a  man. 
The  meanest  Zulu  kneeling  to  a  wooden  fetich  is  as 
precious  in  his  sight  as  the  Baron  Rothschild.  He 
notes  the  guinea,  not  the  guinea's  stamp.  To  this 
Husbandman  at  the  threshing  floor  the  adventitious 
conditions  which  separate  us  into  castes,  as  rich  and 
poor,  plebs  and  aristocrats,  are  but  chaff  which  the 
wind  driveth  away.  All  are  God's  children  and  his 
love  is  alike  toward  all. 

Three  facts  are  in  evidence:  First,  his  Providence. 
We  lay  stress  upon  the  contrasts — rags  and  ermine, 
Murray  Hill  and  Mulberry  Bend,  crutches  and  car- 
riages, the  plumed  hearse  and  the  dead  cart — and 
leap  to  the  conclusion,  "God's  ways  are  not  equal." 
But  we  see  only  an  insignificant  arc  of  the  great  cir- 
cle. And  we  forget  the  difficulties  that  confront  the 
Ruler  of  a  rebellious  world.  Colonel  Ingersoll  says 
that  if  he  were  governing  the  human  race,  he  could 
improve  on  the  present  administration ;  but  there  is 
probably  no  other  man  who  thinks  so.  The  joint 
wisdom  of  our  national  Executive  and  both  houses 


IO  GOD    AND    THE    PEOPLE. 

of  Congress  was  overtaxed  by  the  demands  of  a  pal- 
try camp  of  25,000  soldiers  at  Montauk.  But  (not 
to  speak  of  hypothetical  myriads  of  other  worlds) 
here  are  some  sixteen  hundred  millions  of  malcon- 
tents ("  mostly  fools")  in  arms  against  the  divine 
authority ;  each  differing  from  his  neighbor  in  char- 
acter and  disposition,  and  every  one  clamoring  for 
his  rights.  All  things  considered,  we  may  venture 
the  opinion  that  the  God  of  Providence  does  fairly 
well.  There  is  an  equable  distribution  of  air,  sun- 
light, and  other  necessities.  When  the  state-secrets 
of  the  divine  government  are  revealed,  we  shall 
probably  discover  that  food  and  medicine  were 
administered  with  absolute  fairness,  and  accurately 
adjusted  to  individual  need.  And  considering, 
further,  the  compensations  of  eternity — where  the 
crooked  shall  be  made  straight  and  the  rough  places 
smooth — it  behooves  us  to  speak  with  modest  reserve 
of  the  inequalities  of  Providence.  The  God  of  the 
People  is  making  all  things  work  together  for  the 
best  of  each  and  all. 

The  second  fact  in  evidence  is  Grace.  Over  against 
all  complaints  as  to  the  divine  administration,  its 
injustice  or  partiality,  let  us  place  this  manifesto: 
"God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only- 
begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should 
not  perish  but  have  everlasting  life."  Here  is  no 
discrimination;  but  universal  amnesty,  on  the  sole 
condition  that  the  rebel  shall  lay  down  his  arms. 

The  Man,  in  whom  God  inshrined  himself  for  the 
making  of  these  overtures,  was  one  in  homespun, 
an  average  man.  He  belonged  to  the  Third  Estate. 
This  is  an  immensely  significant  fact  in  the  consider- 


GOD    AND    THE    PEOPLE.  IT 

ation  of  all  philanthropic  or  sociological  problems. 
Holman  Hunt  represents  the  Carpenter  of  Nazareth 
in  his  shop,  chips  and  shavings  around  his  feet,  the 
implements  of  his  trade  on  the  bench  before  him. 
There  he  stands  in  the  very  coign  of  vantage  for  the 
arbitration  of  all  social  and  industrial  controversies. 
He  was  distinctly  a  man  of  the  people,  knowing  their 
needs  and  sympathizing  with  them. 

So  much  as  to  his  personality;  What  now  of  his 
teaching  ?  At  this  point  we  appeal  to  the  universal 
consensus.  In  the  doctrines  set  forth  by  Jesus  of 
Nazareth,  finding  their  magnificent  consummation  in 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  we  have  the  only  known 
social  solvent.  Put  those  principles  in  practice  and 
you  reconcile  the  lofty  and  the  lowly,  the  king  and 
his  subjects,  capital  and  labor.  Put  them  in  practice 
and  you  cut  the  sinews  of  war  and  make  an  utter  end 
of  injustice.  The  Golden  Rule  and  that  alone  can 
usher  in  the  Truce  of  God. 

Now  turn  from  the  teachings  of  Jesus  to  his  Cross. 
Here  is  the  great  answer  to  all  complaints  against  the 
divine  equity.  The  Son  of  God  was  crucified  on  a 
hilltop,  beside  the  thoroughfare,  in  presence  of  the 
multitude,  with  his  hands  outstretched.  He  was  the 
people's  Christ.  He  tasted  death  for  every  man. 
The  benefits  of  his  vicarious  death  are  offered  on 
terms  within  the  reach  of  all.  "  Ho,  every  one  that 
thirsteth,  come  ye  to  the  waters,  and  he  that  hath  no 
money;  come  ye,  buy  and  eat;  yea,  come,  buy  wine 
and  milk  without  money  and  without  price."  The 
words  of  his  gospel  are  great  words,  "all,"  "every 
one,"  "whoever,"  "whosoever."  Here  surely  is  no 
respect  of  persons.     The  same  terms  are  offered  to 


12  GOD    AND    THE    PEOPLE. 

Nicodemus, — Doctor  of  Divinity  and  LL.D.  by  grace 
of  the  Sanhedrin, — and  the  penitent  thief  standing 
on  the  crumbling  verge  of  the  abyss.      Rabbis  and 
fishermen,  knights  and  friendless  outcasts,  vestals  and 
magdalens,    gathered    around   his  cross.      The    sub- 
limest  deed  of  self-sacrifice  that  earth  or  heaven  ever 
gazed  on  was  enacted  there.     It  was  the  fitting  climax 
and  consummation  of  Christ's  work  for  the  people. 
There  was  never  a  moment  in  his  ministry  when  he 
could  not  have  relieved  himself  from  all  danger  by 
identifying  himself  with  the  aristocratic  party.     The 
Jews,  led  by  their  phylacteried  rabbis,   wished  him 
to  dispense  salvation  to  them  alone.    His  answer  was : 
"As  Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness, 
even  so  must  the  Son  of  Man  be  lifted  up,  that  who- 
soever believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
eternal  life."     This  "whosoever"  was  the  shibboleth 
of  his  redemptive  crusade.     He  had  compassion  on 
the  multitudes,  seeing  them  as  sheep  without  a  shep- 
herd.    The  philosophers  by  the  Ilissus  had  elaborated 
a  system  for  the  learned  few;  Jesus  set  forth  a  gospel 
plain    and    simple    for   wayfaring   men.      Wherefore 
"the  people  heard  him,"  "the  people  pressed  upon 
him,"  "the  common  people  heard  him  gladly."     His 
devotion  to  the  welfare  of  the  masses — "the  unshod 
multitude" — provoked  the  wrath  of  the  ecclesiastical 
gentry.      It  was  they  who  sentenced  him  to  death; 
and  dying  he  "tasted  death  for  every  man." 

The  third  fact  in  evidence  is  the  Church.  And  here 
we  approach  more  nearly  the  matter  in  hand.  For 
the  objection  taken  by  non-Christian  Sociologists  to 
the  gospel  as  a  leavening  force,  is  directed  not 
against  Christ  but  against  his  faithless  Church. 


GOD    AND    THE    PEOPLE.  13 

What  is  the  Church  ?  Not  a  coterie  of  good 
people;  but  sinners  all,  distinguished  from  other 
sinners  only  by  their  acceptance  of  Christ.  Not  a 
company  of  truth-seekers;  they  are  not  seeking  truth 
but  profess  to  have  found  it  in  the  revealed  Word 
of  God.  Not  an  Ethical  Society,  casting  about 
for  a  trustworthy  code  of  morals;  this  also  they 
profess  to  have  found  in  the  Decalogue,  the  Sermon 
on  the  Mount,  and  the  exemplary  Jesus,  who  alone 
of  men  lived  up  to  the  full  measure  of  this  moral 
law. 

What  then  is  the  Church  ?  The  great  living  organism 
through  which  God  is  working,  by  the  power  of  his  Spirit, 
for  the  deliverance  of  the  world  from  sin.  Its  business 
is  to  save  men. 

But  where  shall  it  begin  ?  Its  first  concern,  in  the 
necessity  of  the  case,  is  with  the  immortal  soul.  For 
what  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world 
and  lose  his  endless  life  ?  Here  is  where  a  secular 
philanthropist  fails — fails  at  the  outset,  utterly  and 
lamentably.  He  magnifies  an  handbreadth  of  time 
beyond  the  measure  of  the  interminable  aeons.  He 
pleads  for  higher  wages  and  sends  the  wage-earner 
out  into  eternity  without  a  penny  to  his  name.  He 
insists  on  an  antiseptic  for  typhoid  germs,  leaving 
undisturbed  the  mortal,  miasmatic  reek  of  sin.  He 
puts  a  roof  over  a  man's  head  for  threescore  years, 
and  turns  him  forth  at  last  a  homeless  tramp.  The 
"rule  of  three"  puts  this  altruist  to  an  open  shame, 
thus;  as  the  flight  of  an  eagle  is  to  the  incalculable 
sweep  of  eternity  so  is  the  work  of  a  secular  philan- 
thropist to  that  of  a  wise  fisher  of  men. 

The  Church  begins  at   the  beginning.     It  saves  a 


14  GOD    AND    THE    PEOPLE. 

sinner  from  the  record  of  a  mislived  past  by  pointing 
him  to  Christ  who  alone  has  power  to  forgive  sin. 
Without  this,  no  matter  how  you  improve  a  man's 
outward  conditions,  his  life  is  that  of  an  unabsolved 
convict  who  "drags  at  each  remove  a  lengthen- 
ing chain."  One  of  the  current  problems  of  legisla- 
tion is  the  formulation  of  a  wise  and  equitable  bank- 
rupt law,  which  shall  cancel  a  hopeless  indebtedness 
with  no  unnecessary  wrong,  rehabilitate  a  stripped 
and  shivering  insolvent  and  set  him  on  his  feet  again, 
a  man  among  busy  men.  There  is  a  corresponding 
problem  in  the  larger  province  of  life.  The  sinner  is 
an  utter  bankrupt.  "  Turning  over  a  new  leaf  "  will 
not  help  him.  An  effort  to  "brace  up"  is  at  once 
grotesque  and  pathetic.  His  life  is  hobbled  with 
ball-and-chain;  handicapped  by  hopeless  insolvency. 
What  will  you  do  with  him  ?  The  Church  brings 
him  to  Christ;  who  says,  "Arise  and  stand  upon  thy 
feet;  thy  sins  be  forgiven  thee  !  " 

At  this  point  the  Church  stands  alone  as  the  great 
reformatory  agency.  But  here  her  default  begins. 
"This  ought  ye  to  have  done  and  not  to  have  left  the 
other  undone. "  What  is  that  other  ?  All  philanthropic 
service.  The  Lord  enjoined  upon  his  followers  the 
deliverance  of  the  whole  man.  It  is  a  difficult  mat- 
ter to  consider  soul  and  body  apart;  as  Tristram 
Shandy  says,  "They  are  like  a  jerkin  and  its  lining; 
if  you  rumple  the  one,  you  rumple  the  other."  This 
the  Church  has  too  often  forgotten.  Her  Master 
was  ever  mindful  of  it.  He  fed  the  five  thousand 
while  he  preached  to  them.  He  healed  disease  while 
probing  for  the  sin  beneath  it.  He  denounced  the 
Pharisees   not   more   for  blocking    the  gateway   of 


GOD    AND    THE    PEOPLE.  15 

heaven  than  for  devouring  widows'  houses.  He 
preached  a  religion  which  touches  life  at  every  point 
in  its  circumference;  a  religion  as  free,  all-pervasive 
and  irrepressible  as  the  atmosphere,  which  rests  upon 
every  portion  of  the  body  with  an  equable  and  inva- 
riable pressure. 

Just  here  the  Church  should  welcome  all  just 
criticisms  from  without.  Faithful  are  the  wounds  of 
a  friend.  But  let  censure  keep  within  the  boundaries 
of  truth.  For  when  the  worst  is  said,  it  still  remains 
that  the  Church  is  the  great  Philanthropic  Society  of 
the  ages.  All  other  agencies  for  the  betterment  of 
society  have  been  but  as  glowworms  to  a  lighthouse. 
Notwithstanding  the  shortcomings  of  the  Church, 
there  is  more  of  benevolent  power  in  her  little  finger 
than  in  the  loins  of  all  secular  bodies.  In  the  Chari- 
ties Directory  of  the  Borough  of  Manhattan  there  are 
above  twelve  hundred  institutions  for  the  relief  of 
diverse  suffering,  and  of  these  all  that  depend  upon 
non-religious  support  can  be  counted  on  the  fingers 
of  four  men.  "The  world  before  Christ,"  says  Lut- 
hardt,  "was  a  world  without  love."  Back  of  the 
fallible  Church  stands  Christ,  her  faultless  champion. 
He  has  been  the  historic  Friend  of  humanity.  We 
may  accuse  his  people  of  manifold  sins  and  short- 
comings; but  as  for  Christ  himself,  we  bow  the  knee 
and  cry,  "  Hosanna!  "  His  gospel  is  the  world's  only 
hope.  His  Church,  with  all  its  faults,  has  come 
through  the  centuries  like  Milton's  angel  with  the 
flaming  torch,  the  morning  following  in  its  wake. 
Let  us  be  fair.  The  Church  is  not  what  it  should  be, 
but  by  the  grace  of  God  it  is  what  it  is. 

But  O  the  unrealized  possibilities,  the  latent  en- 


1 6  GOD   AND   THE   PEOPLE. 

ergy,  the  lamentable  waste !  Let  all  men  call  these  to 
the  remembrance  of  the  followers  of  Christ.  Let 
them  exhort  us  to  give  heed  not  only  to  spiritual 
want,  but  to  all  the  ills  that  human  flesh  is  heir  to. 
It  is  recorded  that  when  Christ  came  to  a  village 
the  people,  advised  of  his  approach,  brought  their 
sick  and  laid  them  on  couches  along  the  way.  He 
opened  blind  eyes,  healed  withered  arms,  bade  the 
paralytic  stand  upon  his  feet;  and  he  left  the  village 
rejoicing  and  making  merry  because  he  had  passed 
through  it. 

The  business  of  Christ's  people  is  to  follow  him. 
We  are  reminded  by  those  who  make  no  profession 
of  religion  that  we  have  not  faithfully  followed  him 
into  the  dense  centers  of  population,  the  haunts  of 
misery  and  shame.  The  point  is  well  taken;  we 
must  not  resent  it.  "  But  what  has  the  Church  to  do 
with  the  hygienic  conditions  of  the  slums  ?  "  Much 
every  way.  The  only  approach  to  a  soul  is  through 
the  atmosphere  that  environs  it.  In  one  of  Dr.  Guth- 
rie's letters  he  tells  of  visiting  on  a  winter's  day  a 
woman  dying  in  an  attic,  on  whom  all  his  earnest 
appeals  made  no  impression.  At  length  he  said,  "  My 
good  woman,  do  you  not  realize  that  you  are  passing 
into  eternity  ?  Do  you  care  nothing  that  you  must 
in  a  few  moments  stand  before  the  Judgment  bar  ?  " 
She  shivered  as  she  drew  the  scant  covering  of  her 
bed  about  her,  and  said,  "  No  more  would  vou,  Dr. 
Guthrie,  if  you  were  as  cold  as  I  am." 

We  are  reminded,  furthermore,  that  the  Church 
has  a  duty  to  perform  in  the  controversy  as  to  Capital 
and  Labor.  It  was  not  a  churchman  who  wrote  the 
"Song  of  the   Shirt,"  but   his  words  from  without 


GOD    AND    THE    PEOPLE.  1 7 

broke  the  spell  of  Christian  apathy  and  revolution- 
ized the  wage-system  of  London  : 

"  O  men  with  sisters  dear, 

O  men  with  mothers  and  wives, 
It  is  not  linen  you're  wearing  out, 
But  human  creatures'  lives  !  " 

Nor  was  it  a  churchman  who  wrote, 

"  O  ye  wha  are  so  guid  yoursel', 

Sae  pious  and  sae  holy, 
Who've  naught  to  do  but  mark  and  tell 

Your  neebors'  fauts  and  folly  ; — 
O  gently  scan  your  brother  man, 

Still  gentler  sister  woman  ; 
Though  they  may  gang  a  kennin  wrang 

To  step  aside  is  human." 

But  Robert  Burns's  outburst  made  the  ears  of  all 
Zion  to  tingle  and  shamed  the  unco  guid  into  a 
larger  charity. 

We  are  called  to  account,  also,  for  our  comparative 
indifference  to  political  reform.  This  world  would 
be  a  better  world  to  live  in — our  land  a  better  coun- 
try; our  cities  less  like  Sodom — had  the  followers  of 
the  Nazarene  Prophet  been  true  to  his  injunction, 
"  Render  unto  Caesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's." 
Alas!  they  have  too  meekly  acquiesced  in  the  squat- 
ter's claim:  "This  is  Satan's  preserve;  no  trespass- 
ing."  Welcome  the  day  when  from  any  quarter  the 
shame  and  cowardice  of  this  ecclesiastical  inertia 
shall  be  exposed.  Cry  aloud,  all  secular  philanthro- 
pists, cry  aloud  and  spare  not;  lift  up  your  voices 
like  trumpets  and  show  the  Church  her  sin! 

And  what  shall  be  said  of  the  Temperance  prob- 
lem ?     In  a  land  where   church  spires  point  toward 


1 8  GOD    AND    THE    PEOPLE. 

heaven  from  every  hilltop,  and  where  twenty-seven 
millions  of  people  profess  the  worship  of  the  true 
God,  we  spend  one  thousand  millions  per  annum  for 
strong  drink.  And  where  is  the  adequate  protest  ? 
Does  the  Church  make  it  ?  Aye,  as  the  chirp  of  a 
lone  sparrow  on  a  housetop  against  the  whirlwind 
sweeping  on !  In  this  Borough  of  Manhattan  there 
are  six  thousand  dramshops  ;  side  by  side  they 
make  a  twenty-five  mile  thoroughfare  of  licensed 
man-traps.  These  are  confessedly  the  breeding  places 
of  political  corruption;  and  we  clamor  for  Municipal 
Reform!  There  can  be  no  municipal  reform  while 
we  tolerate  these  belching  mouths  of  hell.  Let  the 
ax  be  laid  at  the  root  of  the  tree.  And  let  judgment 
begin  at  the  house  of  God. 

O,  there  is  much  to  be  done  before  the  bride 
shall  make  herself  ready  for  her  marriage  with  the 
King's  son.  Let  the  taunt  of  "  the  lapsed  masses  " 
and  "  the  unchurched  multitude"  ring  in  her  ears 
unceasingly.  Let  altruists  who  decline  to  call  them- 
selves Christians,  put  her  in  perpetual  remembrance 
of  her  shortcomings.  She  needs  to  come  into  a 
closer  and  more  sympathetic  contact  with  the  People. 
She  needs  a  wider  door  of  welcome  and  as  comfort- 
able a  pew  for  the  fellow-craftsman  of  her  Lord  of 
Nazareth  as  for  the  man  wearing  the  gold  ring.  Too 
often  she  permits  the  legend  of  St.  Sebald — who 
warmed  himself  in  an  open  piazza  at  a  fire  of  icicles 
— to  be  realized  in  her  vestibules.  Her  sacred  hospi- 
tality must  shelter  the  rich  and  poor  alike,  since  the 
Lord  is  the  Maker  of  them  all. — She  needs  a  broader 
sweep  in  all  her  charitable  enterprises.  Let  the  Priest 
and  the  Levite  be  admonished  by  the  good  Samari- 


GOD    AND    THE    PEOPLE.  1 9 

tan,  that  if  they  would  win  the  gratitude  and  fellow- 
ship of  the  wounded  traveler,  they  must  no  longer 
pass  by  on  the  other  side.  O  men  and  women  of  the 
Christian  Church,  have  ye  forgotten  the  Master's 
word,  "Go  out  into  the  highways  and  hedges  and 
constrain  them  to  come  in"?  Go!  Christ  said  it 
long  centuries  ago:  the  world  repeats  it  now.  Ye 
have  stood  too  long  in  your  doorways  beckoning  and 
pulling  your  bell-ropes.  Go  up  into  the  attics,  down 
into  the  basements,  out  into  the  slums,  away  to  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth!  Where  is  the  lantern 
that  your  Lord  carried  on  the  dark  mountains  ? 
Where  is  the  quick,  responsive  heart  that  heeds  the 
distant  cry  for  help  ?  The  great  commission  is  unful- 
filled. At  the  threshold  of  the  Twentieth  Century  we 
hear  the  cry  of  twelve  hundred  millions  still  unsaved, 
"No  man  careth  for  our  souls!  "  Awake,  O  Zion; 
shake  thyself  from  the  dust  and  loose  thyself  from 
the  bands  of  thy  neck!  Put  on  thy  beautiful  gar- 
ments, O  daughter  of  Jerusalem,  and  let  all  the 
people  know  that  thou  bringestgood  tidings  of  great 
joy! 

One  thing  more.  If  those  who  are  seeking  by  sec- 
ular methods  to  regenerate  society  would  make  their 
philanthropic  influence  tell  to  the  utmost,  let  them 
fall  in  with  the  Militant  Church,  like  Hobab  of  Akiba, 
and  lend  a  hand.  The  place  to  clean  house  is  indoors. 
Guerrilla  service  is  a  poor  makeshift  for  campaigning. 
If  the  Christian  Church  with  all  her  faults  is  the 
greatest  of  social  forces,  the  place  of  true  reformers 
is  within  her  fellowship.  To  spend  one's  energies  in 
the  mere  betterment  of  the  physical  environment  of 
the  people  is  to  undertake  to  boil  the  kettle  from  the 


20  GOD    AND    THE    PEOPLE. 

top.  The  greatest  of  sociological  problems,  when  all 
is  said  and  done,  is  to  regenerate  the  moral  nature  of 
humanity  and  bring  it  into  harmony  with  the  social 
order  of  the  universe.  God  and  immortality  must 
come  into  the  reckoning.  Leigh  Hunt  was  a  poor 
philosopher.  No  man  who  fails  to  recognize  the 
supreme  claims  of  the  All-Father  can  be  written 
down  as  "one  who  loves  his  fellow  men":  for  the 
brotherhood  of  man  rests  on  the  Fatherhood  of  God. 
Let  us  by  all  means  make  a  heaven  here  below,  but 
alas  for  us  if  we  see  not  another,  a  larger  and  eternal 
heaven  beyond.  This  is  the  vision  revealed  in  the 
gospel  of  Christ.  The  prisoner  of  Chillon,  doomed 
to  a  solitary  despair,  saw  a  rift  in  his  dungeon  wall. 
Dragging  his  chain,  he  clambered  upward  and  looked 
through.  There  lay  the  green  valley  with  the  silver 
river  gliding  through  and  the  blue  heavens  over  all. 
As  he  gazed  through  tears,  a  bird  began  to  sing — 

"  A  lovely  bird  with  azure  wings, 
And  song  that  said  a  thousand  things, 
And  seemed  to  say  them  all  to  me." 

Our  world  is  populous  with  sorrowing  souls;  it  is  for 
us  to  lighten  the  pains  of  their  imprisonment,  but, 
best  of  all,  to  help  them  upward  to  the  window  that 
opens  toward  the  eternal  life.  This  is  to  bring  them, 
despite  all  narrowness  of  circumstance,  into  the  glo- 
rious liberty  of  the  children  of  God. 


THE  LORD'S  HORSES  AND  CHARIOTS. 

"  And  Elisha  prayed,  and  said,  Lord,  I  pray  thee,  open  his  eyes,  that  he  may 
see.  And  the  Lord  opened  the  eyes  of  the  young  man  ;  and  he  saw  :  and,  be- 
hold, the  mountain  was  full  of  horses  and  chariots  of  fire."— II.  Kings  6,  17. 

The  man  at  the  front  is  not  the  only  one  who  serves 
his  country.  Elisha  the  prophet  would  doubtless 
have  cut  a  sorry  figure  in  managing  a  catapult, 
or  in  handling  a  bow;  but  he  turned  his  talents 
to  splendid  account  as  a  spy.  His  gift  of  spiritual 
insight  enabled  him  to  see  what  was  going  on  in  the 
secret  chambers  of  the  king  of  Syria;  and  he  rendered 
an  invaluable  service  to  Israel  by  disclosing  his  plans. 

The  matter  being  reported  to  Benhadad,  he  deter- 
mined forthwith  to  make  away  with  the  meddling 
prophet.  A  wise  decision; — but  "first  catch  your 
hare."  He  was  told  that  Elisha,  in  company  with 
a  young  man  from  the  School  of  the  Prophets,  had 
gone  to  Dothan ;  and  straightway  troops  were  sent  to 
invest  the  place. 

The  next  morning  bright  and  early  the  young  man 
arose  and  climbed  the  walls ;  perhaps,  to  see  the  glory 
of  the  sunrise  or  the  fields  glistening  with  dew.  But 
what  a  sight  was  this?  Syrians!  Syrians  on  every 
side!  Yonder  was  the  pavilion  of  the  Commander- 
in-chief,  with   the   royal   standard   waving  over   it. 

(21) 


2  2  THE    LORDS   HORSES    AND   CHARIOTS. 

Sentinels  were  pacing  to  and  fro.  Little  wonder  the 
youth  was  dismayed.  He  called  Elisha,  saying, 
"Alas,  master,  what  shall  we  do?"  The  prophet 
replied,  calmly,  "Be  of  good  courage;  they  that  be 
for  us  are  more  than  they  that  be  against  us."  What 
could  he  mean?  Then  he  prayed,  "O  Lord,  open 
the  eyes  of  this  young  man  that  he  may  see!  "  And 
he  saw,  and,  behold,  the  mountain  was  full  of  horses 
and  chariots  of  fire. 

It  was  a  great  day  for  that  young  man.  He  was 
beginning  his  postgraduate  course.  For  there  are 
some  parts  of  a  man's  equipment  which  cannot  be  ac- 
quired in  college  or  in  the  curriculum  of  professional 
schools.  John  Brown  of  Haddington  said  to  one  of 
his  theological  classes,  "Young  men,  there  are  three 
things  necessary  to  your  success  as  ambassadors  of 
Christ:  one  is  grace,  which  the  Lord  stands  ready  to 
give  you;  the  second  is  knowledge,  which  I  have 
done  my  best  to  impart;  but  the  third  is  common 
sense — and  if  you  have  not  that,  neither  God  nor 
man  can  help  you."  And  there  are  other  branches 
of  learning,  besides  common  sense,  which  can  only 
be  acquired  by  contact  with  the  world  and  a  practi- 
cal acquaintance  with  men.  Our  youth  at  Dothan 
was  learning  some  things  of  great  value,  things  to 
ponder  about  and  preach  to  the  people  in  after  days. 

It  must  have  dawned  upon  him  at  the  outset  that 
his  eyes  were  not  so  good  as  he  had  supposed  them 
to  be.  There  is,  indeed,  an  optic  nerve  that  lies 
dormant  until  God  touches  and  thrills  it.  In  our 
natural  state  we  are  myopic  and  "cannot  see  afar 
off."  Poor  eyes  of  ours!  We  see  "as  in  a  glass 
darkly ;"  that  is,  by  reflection.      The  atmosphere  is 


THE    LORD'S   HORSES    AND    CHARIOTS.  23 

hazy,  the  mirror  is  blurred,  the  image  distorted.  We 
reason  from  poor  premises,  and  our  conclusions  are 
partial  and  inadequate.  But  one  day  the  shadows 
will  lift  and  we  shall  "see  face  to  face  and  know 
even  as  we  are  known." 

Meanwhile  we  do  wisely  to  acknowledge  the  imper- 
fection of  our  vision.  "  There  are"  as  Hamlet  said, 
"more  things  in  heaven  and  earth  than  are  dreamt 
of  in  our  philosophy."  We  are  bond  slaves  of  the 
senses;  refusing  to  believe  in  what  lies  beyond  the 
reach  of  fleshly  eyes  and  finger  tips.  Wherefore, 
"  we  know  in  part  and  we  prophesy  in  part."  The 
great  world — the  world  of  eternal  realities  and  certi- 
tudes— is  ever  beyond  us.  But  there  is  a  better  day 
coming,  when  we  shall  see  with  our  Master's  eyes; 
"when  he  shall  appear  we  shall  be  like  him;  for  we 
shall  see  him  as  he  is." 

The  prayer  of  Elisha  was  heard.  The  eyes  of  the 
young  student  were  opened  and  he  caught  a  glimpse 
of  things  unseen  and  eternal.  It  marked  a  turning- 
point  of  his  life.  He  could  never  again  be  the  same 
man. 

I.  lie  formed,  that  day,  a  new  conception  of  God.  In  the 
School  of  the  Prophets  he  had  devoted  his  particular 
attention  to  theology;  that  is  the  science  of  God.  He 
had  learned  to  define  the  Deity  in  such  terms  as  are 
familiar  to  us:  "God  is  a  Spirit,  infinite,  eternal,  and 
unchangeable  in  his  being,  wisdom,  power,  holiness, 
justice,  goodness  and  truth."  He  had  theorized  about 
his  attributes.  He  had  estimated  his  stature  in  terms 
of  arithmetic  and  measured  his  stately  steppings  with 
a  span.  He  had  speculated  about  him  as  an  invisible 
and  impalpable  somewhat  to  be  assumed  as  the  con- 


24  THE   LORD'S    HORSES    AND    CHARIOTS. 

venient  basis  of  a  doctrinal  system.  But  now  he  per- 
ceived that  he  was  the  living,  all-pervading,  imma- 
nent One.  So  Moses  in  the  desert  of  Midian,  seeing 
the  bush  burning  and  not  consumed,  said,  "  I  will 
draw  near  and  inspect  this  wonder."  And,  lo,  a  voice 
from  the  burning  bush  said,  "Take  off  thy  shoes 
from  off  thy  feet,  for  the  ground  whereon  thou  stand- 
est  is  holy  ground.  I  AM  THAT  I  AM."  It  is  a 
great  moment  for  any  man  when  he  begins  to  appre- 
hend God  as  a  personal  Factor  in  the  affairs  of  na- 
tions and  men. 

The  prophet  and  this  youth  were  compassed  about 
by  their  foes.  It  now  became  apparent  that  God  had 
not  forgotten  them.  He  is  indeed  "a  very  present 
help  in  time  of  trouble,"  "a  refuge  from  the  storm,  a 
shadow  from  the  heat,  when  the  blast  of  the  terrible 
ones  is  as  a  storm  against  the  wall."  Here  is  sinking 
Peter;  a  helping  hand  is  reached  forth  to  him.  Here 
is  doubting  Thomas;  a  hand  pierced  with  the  irrefu- 
table logic  of  the  atonement  is  stretched  out  to  him, 
with  the  word,  "Be  not  faithless,  but  believing!" 
Here  is  dying  Stephen;  amid  a  shower  of  stones,  he 
beholds  his  Lord  standing  on  the  right  hand  of  the 
Father,  extending  a  hand  of  gracious  welcome  to  him. 

God  wills  that  his  people  shall  not  fret  nor  worry ; 
because  he  is  always  near  by.  "My  foes  compass 
me  about  like  bees,"  sings  David;  "  they  are  quenched 
as  the  fire  of  thorns;  for  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  I 
will  destroy  them!"  He  is  recalling  an  incident  of 
his  boyhood,  when  he  thoughtlessly  molested  the 
hive  and  the  bees  came  swarming  about  him,  buz- 
zing, stinging;  contemptibly  small  and  irresistibly 
pestilent.     So   are   the  worries  of  life.     They  make 


THE    LORD'S    HORSES   AND    CHARIOTS.  25 

our  days  melancholy  and  our  nights  sleepless.  I 
know  of  no  deliverance  save  in  the  thought  of  a  pres- 
ent God.  Our  foolish  fret  and  groundless  fear  are 
quenched  as  a  fire  of  thorns  when  we  realize  that  our 
Father  knoweth  and  is  mindful  of  us.  Here  is  a  great 
truth  for  common  uses.  In  all  Christ's  teaching  there 
is  nothing  more  helpful  than  this:  "Consider  the 
lilies  of  the  field,  how  they  grow;  they  toil  not,  nei- 
ther do  they  spin;  and  yet  I  say  unto  you  that  Solo- 
mon in  all  his  glory  was  not  arrayed  like  one  of 
these.     Are  ye  not  of  much  more  value  than  they  ?" 

II.  The  young  man  gained,  moreover,  on  that  memorable 
day,  a  new  apprehension  of  History.  If  you  had  asked 
him  concerning  the  war  then  being  waged,  he  would 
probably  have  told  you  that  the  parties  immediately 
concerned  were  Jehoram  and  Benhadad.  He  had  yet 
to  learn  that  kings  and  potentates  are  but  puppets  in 
the  hands  of  the  Omnipotent. 

"  He  maketh  kings  to  sit  in  sovereignty; 

He  maketh  subjects  to  their  power  obey; 
He  pulleth  down,  he  setteth  up  on  high; 
He  gives  to  that,  from  this  he  takes  away: 
For  what  he  will  do,  that  he  may. 

God  is  ever  present  in  the  affairs  of  nations  as  of 
men.  "  The  kings  of  the  earth  set  themselves  and 
the  rulers  take  counsel  together,  saying,  '  Let  us 
break  his  bands  asunder  and  cast  his  cords  from 
us.'  He  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens  shall  laugh;  the 
Lord  shall  have  them  in  derision."  What  is  history 
but  the  stately  steppings  of  the  Almighty  along 
the  ages  ?  He  is  determining  the  outcome  of  every 
conflict  with  a  view  to  his  own  glory  in  the  setting 
up  of  his  kingdom. 


26  THE    LORD'S    HORSES    AND    CHARIOTS. 

Pharaoh  said,  "  I  have  the  children  of  Israel  shut 
up  between  the  mountains  and  the  sea."  But  God 
outwitted  him,  lifting  the  waters  in  crystal  walls,  that 
his  people  might  go  through  dryshod. 

Herod  said,  "If  it  be  true  that  a  new  King  is  born 
in  Bethlehem,  I  will  speedily  dispose  of  him."  There 
was  a  voice  of  lamentation  in  Ramah,  Rachel  weeping 
for  her  children  ;  but  while  Herod's  men  were  bath- 
ing their  swords  in  the  blood  of  the  innocents,  the 
Christ-child  was  far  away. 

Philip  of  Spain  determined  to  send  an  armada 
against  the  Protestant  nations  that  should  put  a 
speedy  quietus  on  their  heresy.  God  said,  "  I  will 
breathe  on  Philip's  fleet."  Deus  afflavit!  And  lo,  the 
great  armada  was  scattered  like  driftwood  on  a 
hundred  shores.      Outwitted  again  ! 

The  King  of  England  led  forth  a  magnificent  army 
of  cavaliers  against  the  Covenanters.  He  looked  over 
the  brow  of  the  hill  and  said,  "  Behold  yon  handful 
of  Scots  !  They  are  on  their  knees.  Up,  brave  men, 
and  at  them  !  "  The  cry  was,  "  Ho  for  Cavaliers  !  " 
But  the  handful  of  Scots  met  them  with  a  braver  and 
calmer  shout,  "  God  with  us  !  "  And  Edward's  army 
was  scattered  like  chaff  before  the  wind.  Thus  God 
ever  outwits  the  enemies  of  his  people  and  maketh 
the  wrath  of  men  to  praise  him. 

"  O,  blest  is  he  to  whom  is  given 
The  instinct  that  can  tell 
That  God  is  on  the  field,  when  He 
Is  most  invisible." 

III.  The  youth  learned,  also,  in  that  day  of  revelation, 
that  the  world  is  larger  than  he  had  imagined.      Had  he 


THE    LORD  S    HORSES    AND    CHARIOTS.  27 

been  asked  the  dimensions  of  the  world,  he  would 
have  said:  "It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Dan,  on 
the  south  by  Beersheba,  on  the  east  by  the  Euphrates, 
and  on  the  west  by  the  Great  Sea. "  We  are  all  living 
in  our  vicinage.  We  refuse  to  believe  that  there  is 
anything  beyond  the  crest  of  the  hill.  But,  indeed, 
there  is  much  beyond.  There  are  nations  stretching 
out  earnest  hands  to  us.  The  land  of  duty  and 
responsibility  lies  largely  past  the  Pillars  of  Hercules. 
We  are  little  people  because  we  choose  to  live  in  a 
little  world. 

And  upward  the  outlook  is  larger  still.  Let  us  not 
shrink  from  accepting  the  doctrine  of  angels.  The 
unseen  world  is  infinitely  more  populous  and  nearer 
than  we  think.  There  is  nothing  irrational  in  the 
thought  that  invisible  beings  are  all  around  us.  The 
old  poet,  Hesiod,  said:  "Thrice  ten  thousand  guard- 
ians of  mortal  men  walk  the  broad,  life-feeding  earth. 
Enwrapped  in  air,  they  scan  the  good  and  evil  deeds 
of  men."     Milton  wrote: 

"  Millions  of  spiritual  creatures  walk  the  earth 
Unseen,  both  when  we  wake  and  when  we  sleep." 

Our  youth,  in  the  School  of  the  Prophets,  had 
doubtless  read  of  Jacob's  dream.  He  had  questioned 
with  his  fellow  students  whether  it  was  only  a  dream ; 
or  were  these  real  angels  passing  up  and  down?  To- 
day he  understood.  He  saw  beyond  the  overhanging 
bank  of  clouds  the  hierarchies  of  angels  and  arch- 
angels. Who  shall  number  the  Lord's  host  ?  It  is 
like  the  sands  of  the  seashore  for  multitude.  Myriads 
on  myriads!  Armies  on  armies!  The  young  man  at 
Dothan  saw  merely  a  detachment  of  the  vanguard; 


28  THE   LORD'S   HORSES    AND    CHARIOTS. 

but  he  began  to  realize  that  he  was  a  living  part  of 
a  great  universe  of  rational  beings,  which  includes 
angels  and  saints  triumphant  waiting  at  the  throne 
of  God. 

IV.  And  in  the  new  light  that  dawned  upon  him,  life 
seemed  a  more  serious  thing.  He  had  discussed  at 
school  the  question  of  immortality  pro  and  con:  "  If 
a  man  die,  shall  he  live  again  ?"  Now  he  knew. 
Life  is  brief  indeed ;  an  handbreadth,  a  swift  eagle 
hastening  to  its  prey,  a  dream,  a  shadow,  a  tale  that 
is  told.  "Out,  out,  brief  candle;  life's  but  a  walk- 
ing shadow!  " 

But  what  of  the  sequel  ?  Life  must  be  measured 
in  terms  of  eternity.  Otherwise  it  is  not  worth  living. 
What  we  call  life  is  but  the  opening  chapter  of  an 
endless  serial.  It  is  the  vestibule  of  an  infinite  tem- 
ple; we  climb  the  weary  steps  and  reach  the  gates 
with  panting  breath,  and  knock;  and  an  angel  with 
shining  face  opens  to  us,  saying,  "  I  am  he  whom  you 
have  maligned  as  'the  King  of  Terrors.'  Come  in, 
and  begin  to  live!  " 

Our  present  years  are  probationary  to  eternity. 
Herein  lies  their  grandeur  and  solemnity.  We  are 
soon  going  to  join  the  majority.  We  are  destined  to 
the  incalculable  possibilities  of  an  endless  future. 
What  we  are  to  be  there  depends  upon  what  we  make 
of  ourselves  here  and  now.  As  the  tree  falleth,  so 
shall  it  lie. 

In  view  of  the  revelations  of  that  day  at  Dothan  it 
is  safe  to  say  that  the  young  student  looked  forward 
to  the  ministry  with  new  plans  and  purposes.  He 
had  learned  some  things  which  cannot  be  gotten  out 
of  books.     He  could  no  longer  think  of  himself  as  a 


THE    LORD'S    HORSES    AND    CHARIOTS.  29 

prophet  rendering  a  merely  perfunctory  service. 
When  the  saintly  McCheyne  lay  dying,  he  opened 
his  eyes  and  said,  "  I  have  looked  into  eternity!  O, 
if  I  could  come  back  now  and  preach!  If  I  might 
but  meet  my  people  once  again  in  the  light  of  these 
revelations!"  Ah,  we  should  all  be  better  preachers 
and  better  men  if  our  eyes  were  opened  to  see  things 
as  they  are. 

O  for  open  eyes!  It  was  to  this  end  that  Christ 
visited  the  world.  He  came  to  show  us  God  in  a 
new  light,  as  an  ever  present,  ever  living,  ever  potent 
One.  He  came  to  give  us  new  conceptions  of  the 
world  and  the  solemnities  of  life.  He  came  to  show 
us  ourselves,  so  little  in  the  sight  of  the  Infinite  and 
in  comparison  with  the  vast  universe;  and  yet  so 
great,  having  in  our  nostrils  the  divine  breath,  elect 
to  be  colaborers  with  God  and  destined  to  share  his 
immortality.  "How  poor,  how  rich;  how  abject, 
how  august;  how  complicate,  how  wonderful,  is  man  ! 
An  heir  of  glory,  a  frail  child  of  dust!  A  worm,  a 
god!" 

Let  us  make  the  prayer  of  Bartimeus,  "  O  that  I 
might  receive  my  sight  !  "  There  was  a  world  of  life 
and  beauty  all  around  him,  and  he,  blind  beggar,  had 
never  seen  it.  "  O  that  I  might  receive  my  sight  !  " 
Jesus  heard  him  ;  and  in  an  instant  all  was  revealed  ; 
the  sky  above,  the  green  meadows,  the  purple  vine- 
yards, the  olive  orchards.  O  the  joy  of  seeing  !  But 
faith  gets  larger  visions  still,  of  God  and  immortal- 
ity, of  truth  and  goodness,  of  present  duty  and 
boundless  vistas  of  influence.  Why  shall  not  our 
revelation  come  just  now  ?  Jesus  of  Nazareth  passeth 
by.    Make  your  prayer,  "O  that  I  might  receive  my 


30  THE    LORD'S    HORSES    AND    CHARIOTS. 

sight  !  "  Then,  behold  the  King  in  his  beauty;  and 
stand  ready  at  his  word.  "  Say  not,  It  is  yet  four 
months,  and  then  cometh  the  harvest.  Lift  up  your 
eyes  and  see  ;  the  fields  are  already  white  unto  the 
harvest."  Thrust  in  your  sickle  and  reap  !  In  view 
of  all  the  solemnities  and  possibilities  of  life,  here  and 
hereafter,  let  us  address  ourselves  to  present  respon- 
sibility. We  live  for  eternity.  Let  us  live  for  our 
Master,  live  to-day! 


OFFENDED  IN  CHRIST. 

"  From  that  time  many  of  his  disciples  went  back,  and  walked  no  more  with 
him."— John  6,  66. 

The  incident  here  referred  to  occurred  on  the  day 
following  the  multiplication  of  the  loaves.  On  the 
further  shore  of  Gennessaret  the  Lord  had  been 
preaching  to  the  multitudes.  It  was  at  the  time  of 
the  Passover,  and  the  road  was  thronged  with  pil- 
grims on  their  way  to  Jerusalem.  Many  turned  aside 
to  hear  the  great  Preacher.  The  day  closed  with  the 
miracle  of  the  loaves.  So  deeply  were  the  people  im- 
pressed by  the  words  and  works  of  Jesus  that  they 
proposed  to  make  him  a  king.  "  We  are  on  our  way 
to  Jerusalem,"  they  said,  "where  we  shall  meet  a 
multitude  from  all  parts  of  Jewry,  thronging  the 
streets  and  encamped  on  the  hillsides.  Why  not 
employ  the  opportunity  to  deliver  ourselves  from  the 
Roman  yoke  ?  Let  us  escort  this  Wonder-worker  to 
Jerusalem,  place  him  on  the  Davidic  throne  and  raise 
the  cry,  'God  save  the  king!'"  But  Jesus  knew 
their  purpose  and  determined  to  thwart  it;  to  this 
end  he  withdrew  again  into  the  mountain  himself 
alone.  Later,  when  he  did  not  return,  his  disciples 
went  down  to  the  shore  and  embarked  for  Capernaum, 
while  storm-clouds  were  gathering  over  the  lake. 

(31) 


32  OFFENDED    IN    CHRIST. 

The  next  morning  these  pilgrims,  resuming  their 
journey,  rounded  the  lake  and  came  to  Capernaum, 
and  there  they  found  Jesus.  "Rabbi,"  they  asked, 
"  when  earnest  thou  hither  ?  "  He  gave  them  no  an- 
swer. The  fact  was  that,  as  the  night  closed  in  and 
the  tempest  fell,  he  had  seen  from  his  mountain  soli- 
tude the  disciples  toiling  at  the  oars;  and  he  had 
come  to  them  walking  on  the  sea.  At  his  command 
the  waves  were  stilled;  and  in  the  boat  with  his  dis- 
ciples he  reached  Capernaum  before  the  pilgrims, 
who  followed  early  in  the  morning. 

He  gave  no  heed  to  their  inquiry,  "When  earnest 
thou  hither  ?  "  because  he  had  somewhat  to  say  more 
clearly  to  the  point;  namely,  "Ye  seek  me  not  be- 
cause ye  perceived  the  deep  significance  of  my  mir- 
acles, but  because  ye  did  eat  of  the  loaves  and  were 
filled."  It  was  a  merited  rebuke  and  quite  true;  but 
indeed  it  was  not  a  pleasant  thing  to  say.  The  speaker 
was  unmindful  of  that  stringent  rule  of  dialectics 
which  requires  him  to  win  the  confidence  of  his 
audience  at  the  outset.  How  much  wiser,  apparently, 
was  Paul's  exordium  on  Mars'  Hill:  "Ye  men  of 
Athens,  I  perceive  that  ye  are  exceedingly  devout." 
But  Jesus  was  no  word-juggler,  no  weaver  of  com- 
pliments; his  introduction  was  an  arrow  speeding  to 
the  mark. 

Then  followed  one  of  his  most  remarkable  dis- 
courses, touching  some  of  the  deepest  problems  of 
the  spiritual  life;  containing  not  a  word  of  clever 
adulation,  but  much  of  profound,  heart-searching 
truth.  The  further  he  proceeded,  the  more  did  he 
alienate  his  audience.  "These  are  hard  sayings," 
they  murmured ;  "who  can  hear  them?"     One  by 


OFFENDED   IN   CHRIST.  33 

one  they  dropped  away,  until  he  was  left  with  a 
mere  handful  of  the  faithful.  It  was  a  stampede; 
and  little  wonder.  Fair-weather  Christians  are  ever 
offended  by  downright  truth ;  and  they  are  ever  falling 
away,  turning  backward  and  following  him  no  more. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  we  can  accept  Jesus 
without  approving  his  doctrine.  No  half-way  approach 
will  answer;  no  piecemeal  approval  can  satisfy  him.  It 
is  not  enough  to  rhapsodize  about  his  Sermon  on  the 
Mount;  we  must  accept  with  equal  heartiness  his  Ser- 
mon to  the  Pharisees,  "Woe  unto  you,  hypocrites; 
how  can  ye  escape  the  damnation  of  hell!"  It  is 
not  enough  to  approve  his  miracles  of  healing  at 
Bethesda;  we  must  consent,  also,  to  the  withering  of 
the  fig-tree.  The  parables  of  the  Good  Samaritan 
and  the  Prodigal  Son,  all  sweetness  and  light,  must 
be  coupled  with  those  of  Dives  and  Lazarus  and  the 
Wheat  and  the  Tares.  The  word  of  the  Master,  "  He 
that  believeth  shall  be  saved  "  is  no  truer  than  its 
obverse,  "He  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned." 
His  teaching  must  be  accepted  in  its  entirety,  with- 
out demur  or  reservation.  And  this  suggests  why  so 
many  were  and  are  still  offended  in  him. 

The  first  doctrine  which  gave  offense  to  the  multitudes  on 
this  occasion  was  that  of  Christ's  Divinity.  He  said,  "  I 
am  come  down  from  heaven";  and  "  This  is  the  will 
of  the  Father  who  sent  me,  that  of  those  whom  he 
hath  given  me,  I  should  lose  none  but  should  raise 
them  up  at  the  last  day."  In  this  "coming  down  " 
and  being  "  sent  of  the  Father,"  we  have  a  clear  ref- 
erence to  his  pre-existence.  It  is  like  a  paraphrase 
of  John's  saying,  "  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word, 
and  the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God ; 


34  OFFENDED    IN    CHRIST. 

and  the  Word  was  made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  us." 
The  people  were  perplexed  and  bewildered  by  this 
doctrine.  "How  is  it  that  he  saith,  'I  came  down 
from  heaven '  ?  Is  not  this  Jesus,  the  son  of  Joseph 
the  carpenter,  whose  mother  and  father  we  know  ?  " 
There  are  many  in  our  time  also  who  are  willing  to 
believe  that  Jesus  was  an  excellent  man ;  that  there 
was  no  guile  in  his  heart,  nor  guile  on  his  lips.  Nay, 
they  will  go  further;  he  was  the  very  highest  exem- 
plification of  manhood  and  truest  character;  the  best 
of  mortal  men.  Thus  Renan,  an  avowed  unbeliever, 
closes  his  biography  of  Jesus  with  the  words,  "  What- 
ever may  be  the  surprises  of  the  future,  Jesus  will 
never  be  surpassed.  His  worship  will  grow  young 
without  ceasing;  his  legend  will  call  forth  tears  with- 
out end;  his  sufferings  will  melt  the  noblest  hearts; 
all  ages  will  proclaim,  that,  among  the  sons  of  men, 
there  is  none  born  greater  than  Jesus. "  But  this  is 
not  enough;  by  the  stern  necessity  of  logic,  we  must 
go  further  or  turn  back. 

Others  are  willing  to  receive  him  as  prophet — an 
ambassador  with  a  message.  They  perceive  how  he 
touched  the  great  problems  of  spiritual  truth  by 
which  the  philosophers  of  his  time  were  perplexed 
and  bewildered,  cutting  the  Gordian  knots.  He  set 
forth  God  and  immortality,  judgment  and  eternal 
glory,  as  an  eye  witness.  He  spoke  "not  as  the 
scribes,  but  as  one  having  authority."  The  Rabbis 
were  amazed  at  his  profundity;  the  common  people 
heard  him  gladly.  It  is  a  proverb,  "He  spake  as 
never  man  spake."  All  this  maybe  admitted,  and 
Christ  rejected  still.  This  is  not  enough.  In  com- 
mon reason,  we  must  go  further  or  turn  back. 


OFFENDED    IN    CHRIST.  35 

The  claims  of  Jesus  were  explicit.  To  the  woman 
of  Samaria  who  had  spoken  hopefully  of  the  coming 
of  the  Messiah  he  answered,  "  I  that  speak  unto  thee 
am  he."  To  Philip,  who  had  said,  "Show  us  the 
Father,  and  it  sufficeth  us,"  he  replied,  "Have  I 
been  so  long  time  with  you,  and  yet  hast  thou  not 
known  me,  Philip  ?  He  that  hath  seen  me  hath  seen 
the  Father;  how  sayest  thou  then,  Show  us  the  Fa- 
ther ?  Believest  thou  not  that  I  am  in  the  Father 
and  the  Father  in  me  ? "  To  the  young  ruler  who 
prostrated  himself  before  him,  crying,  "Good  Rab- 
bi!" he  made  quick  response,  "Why  callest  me 
good  ?  There  is  none  good  but  one;  that  is  God." 
In  other  words,  he  was  either  more  or  less  than 
"Good  Rabbi."  There  must  be  no  half-way  con- 
cession; it  was  Godhood  or  nothing  for  him.  And 
when  doubting  Thomas,  overwhelmed  by  the  testi- 
mony of  his  pierced  hands,  prostrated  himself  with 
the  cry,  "My  Lord  and  my  God!"  he  uttered  no 
disclaimer.  We  have,  therefore,  no  alternatives  but 
these:  we  must  either  pronounce  him  a  charlatan  and 
an  impostor,  or  else  acquiesce  in  his  tremendous 
claims  and  yield  him  homage  as  our  Lord  and  God. 

The  second  doctrine  by  which  the  people  were  offended 
that  day  was  Justification  by  Faith.  The  sermon  of 
Jesus  turned  on  the  similitude  of  bread  suggested, 
no  doubt,  by  the  miracle  of  the  loaves.  He  said, 
"I  am  the  bread  of  life.  Your  fathers  did  eat  manna 
in  the  wilderness  and  are  dead.  I  am  the  living 
bread  which  came  down  from  heaven,  of  which  if  a 
man  eat  he  shall  never  die.  And  the  bread  that  I 
will  give  is  my  flesh,  which  I  will  give  for  the  life  of 
the  world." 


36  OFFENDED    IN    CHRIST. 

The  meaning  is  plain:  he  presents  himself  as  their 
Saviour  from  sin.  Of  all  that  multitude  of  pilgrims 
there  was  not  one  who  was  insensible  of  guilt,  or 
who  did  not  desire  to  be  delivered  from  it.  Else  why 
had  they  journeyed  from  afar  to  partake  of  the 
paschal  lamb  ?  The  figure  is  most  expressive;  bread 
is  "the  staff  of  life."  So  is  Jesus,  to  an  immortal 
soul,  the  way,   the  truth,  the  life. 

And  here,  furthermore,  is  a  suggestion  of  the  plan 
of  salvation,  salvation  by  the  cross.  "The  bread  which 
I  will  give  is  my  flesh."  This  bread  must  be  broken  ; 
it  is  broken  on  Calvary.  He  was  wounded  for  our 
transgressions  and  bruised  for  our  iniquities,  that  by 
his  stripes  we  might  be  healed.  He  took  upon  him- 
self the  burden  of  our  sins,  and  bore  them  on  his 
mighty  heart  until  it  broke.  He  suffered  death  that 
we  might  live  through  him. 

And  further,  it  suggests  the  condition  on  which  a  soul 
receives  the  benefit  of  the  great  redemption:  "He  that 
believeth  shall  be  saved."  Faith  is  acceptance.  It 
is  not  the  lamb  on  the  altar,  but  the  blood  sprinkled 
on  the  door  posts,  that  averts  the  sword  of  the 
destroying  angel.  It  is  not  bread  on  the  table  that 
satisfies  our  hunger,  but  bread  eaten  and  assimilated, 
so  that  it  becomes  bone,  sinew,  brain,  our  very  selves. 
Wherefore  he  said,  "  Except  ye  eat  the  flesh  and  drink 
the  blood  of  the  Son  of  Man,  ye  have  no  life  in  you." 

This  is  the  hardest  of  all  the  hard  sayings  of  Jesus; 
it  is  "  the  offense  of  the  cross."  A  thousand  excuses 
are  given  for  rejecting  Christ,  but  back  of  them  all  is 
a  natural  repugnance  to  free  grace.  Our  pride  revolts 
at  a  salvation  "without  money  and  without  price." 
It  were  easier  for  men  to  undertake  a  pilgrimage  to 


OFFENDED    IN    CHRIST.  37 

Mecca  or  the  Ganges  than  to  consent  to  be  saved 
gratis.  Yet  this  is  the  gospel  plan.  "The  Jews 
require  a  sign,  and  the  Greeks  seek  after  wisdom; 
but  we  preach  Christ  crucified,  to  the  Jews  a  stum- 
blingblock,  and  to  the  Greeks  foolishness;  but  to 
them  that  are  saved,  Christ  the  power  and  the 
wisdom  of  God." 

The  third  of  the  hard  sayings  of  Jesus,  by  which  the 
multitude  were  repelled,  was  the  doctrine  of  the  Kingdotn. 
He  said,  when  they  murmured,  "  Doth  this  offend 
you  ?  What  and  if  ye  shall  see  the  Son  of  Man 
ascending  up  where  he  was  before  ? " — that  is,  to 
reassume  the  glory  which  he  had  with  the  Father  be- 
fore the  world  was.  There  he  sits  to-day,  "  expecting 
until  his  enemies  shall  be  made  his  footstool."  He 
superintends  from  that  high  place  the  setting  up  of 
his  kingdom  by  the  deliverance  of  the  world  from  sin. 

It  was  perhaps  too  much  to  expect  that  the  people 
would  receive  this  truth.  The  contrast  was  too  great. 
There  he  stood  ;  a  man  in  homespun,  the  carpenter's 
son,  a  man  of  the  people.  Some  of  his  hearers, 
perhaps,  had  seen  him  in  his  shop  mending  the  plows 
and  furniture  of  the  village  folk.  And  he  claimed  to 
be  the  heir-apparent  of  the  heavenly  throne!  They 
had  been  willing  in  their  enthusiasm  to  bestow  upon 
him  the  Judaean  crown ;  but  that  was  nothing  to  him. 
A  mere  bauble!  He  awaited  a  crown  of  stars;  and 
the  kings  of  the  earth  should  bring  their  glory  and 
honor  to  him. — It  was  indeed  a  hard  saying;  who 
could  hear  it  ? 

But  there  is  no  such  reason  for  rejecting  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Kingdom  now.  We  have  the  testimony 
of  history.     This  Jesus  of  Nazareth  has  come  down 


38  OFFENDED    IN    CHRIST. 

through  the  centuries,  a  most  majestic  Figure,  with 
a  light  shining  from  his  face  that  has  long  since  pene- 
trated the  regions  lying  in  darkness  and  the  shadow 
of  death.  He  has  marked  out  with  his  scepter  the 
ever-enlarging  boundaries  of  the  mystic  circle  which 
we  call  "Christendom."  At  his  approach  the  doors 
of  the  benighted  nations  have  opened  to  the  procla- 
mation of  the  evangel.  The  logic  of  events  adds  new 
force  to  the  argument  with  each  succeeding  day.  The 
conquest  of  the  Soudan,  the  rending  asunder  of 
China,  the  partition  of  Africa  are  mere  episodes  along 
the  march.  Thoughtful  men  and  women,  can  ye  not 
discern  the  signs  of  the  times  ?  Who  is  this  that 
cometh  from  Edom  with  garments  dyed  in  blood  ? 
From  the  distant  hills  where  the  banner  of  the  cross 
waves  over  an  ever-victorious  host,  returns  the  an- 
swer, "I  that  speak  in  righteousness,  mighty  to 
save  !  " 

The  visible  token  of  Christ's  kingdom  is  his  Church. 
Who  shall  explain  the  Church  ?  Here  is  the  great 
miracle  of  the  ages.  See  the  little  group  emerging 
from  the  upper  chamber,  "a  feeble  folk"  like  the 
conies,  a  group  of  humble  fishermen  and  toiling  men. 
The  wrath  of  kings  and  potentates  goes  forth  against 
them;  "Let  us  whet  our  swords  and  kindle  the 
fagots;  we  will  exterminate  them!"  But  past  the 
fagot-fire  and  ax  and  gallows  tree,  on  they  come 
along  the  centuries;  thousands,  tens  of  thousands, 
millions  now;  and  still  the  royal  standard  onward 
goes.  To-day  there  is  a  great  multitude  whom  no 
man  can  number  in  goodly  fellowship;  the  air  is 
resonant  everywhere  with  their  chorus,  "All  hail  the 
power  of  Jesus'  name!  " 


OFFENDED    IN    CHRIST.  39 

And  the  progress  of  the  past  is  a  foregleam  of  the 
apocalypse.  The  prophecy  of  the  Kingdom  draws 
near  its  fulfillment.  Jesus  shall  surely  reign  from  the 
river  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth.  And  the  sorrow  is 
that  men,  busy  amid  the  sordid  affairs  of  life,  are 
blind  to  the  rising  of  this  "  house  magnifical. "  They 
go  about  their  small  affairs,  getting  together  a  little 
yellow  dust,  chasing  butterflies  and  grasping  after 
laurel  wreaths,  oblivious  of  the  fact  that  the  Omnip- 
otent has  made  bare  his  arm,  and  that  multitudes 
of  earnest  men  are  laboring  together  with  him  for 
the  betterment  of  the  world  in  the  setting  up  of  this 
kingdom  of  truth  and  righteousness.  They  live  for 
things  that  perish,  spend  their  money  for  that  which 
is  not  bread,  die  of  soul  hunger;  and  the  world  pro- 
nounces them  successful.  The  most  brilliant  life, 
unmindful  of  the  Kingdom,  is  stupendous  waste. 
On  many  a  tombstone  of  king,  statesman,  millionaire, 
let  this  be  written :  Here  lies  one  whose  life  was  a  fail- 
ure. He  amassed  wealth,  found  pleasure,  was  crowned 
with  honor ;  but  dying,  he  went  out  into  eternity  a  pauper 
before  God. 

The  man  who  undertakes  to  reason  against  the 
logic  of  events  has  a  hopeless  task  before  him.  The 
words  of  Jesus  with  reference  to  his  own  ultimate 
triumph,  are  indeed  an  hard  saying  when  set  over 
against  the  personality  of  the  carpenter's  son;  but  it 
is  impossible  to  resist  them  when  we  lift  our  eyes  on 
what  he  has  wrought  in  the  progress  of  the  centuries. 
As  Alexander  the  Great  was  advancing  through  the 
Orient,  he  asked  of  a  provincial  governor  the  privilege 
of  passing  through  his  territory.  The  answer  was, 
"I  will  call  my  counselors   and  deliberate."      The 


40  OFFENDED    IN    CHRIST. 

great  conqueror  retorted:  "You  may  deliberate,  but 
I  shall  be  marching  on."  A  man  may  reject  Christ, 
may  refuse  to  receive  his  doctrines  or  admit  his 
claims.  This  however  is  certain:  with  or  without 
him,  the  Lord  of  righteousness  will  pursue  his  trium- 
phal course  among  the  nations  and  children  of  men. 

It  is  written  that  when  the  people  heard  these  say- 
ings of  Jesus,  "many  of  them  turned  back,  and  walked 
with  him  no  more."  There  they  go!  Away  from 
Christ;  offended  by  his  frankness;  all  needing  him 
and  dying  for  want  of  him.  There  they  go;  their 
backs  upon  the  noonday,  their  faces  toward  the  night. 
Will  ye  also  go  with  them  ? 

A  little  group  still  gathered  about  Jesus.  He  asked 
them,  "Will  ye  also  go  away?"  And  Peter  answered, 
"Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go  ?  Thou  hast  the  words 
of  eternal  life;  and  we  have  believed  and  are  sure 
that  thou  art  the  Holy  One  of  God. "  To  whom,  indeed, 
can  we  go?  Is  there  any  other  who  can  satisfy  us 
with  spiritual  truth?  Alas!  none.  This  Jesus  alone 
has  the  words  of  eternal  life;  and  blessed  are  they 
that  are  not  offended  in  him. 


THE  GREAT  DAY. 

"  He  hath  appointed  a  day,  in  the  which  he  will  judge  the  world  in  right- 
eousness."—Acts  17,  31. 

It  is  the  Apostle  Paul  who  makes  this  announce- 
ment. The  "ugly  little  Jew,"  as  Renan  calls  him, 
was  a  wonderful  preacher.  He  had  made  such  an 
impression  upon  the  people  of  Athens  in  his  disputa- 
tions in  synagogue  and  market-place  that  he  was 
brought  up  to  Areopagus  for  a  better  hearing.  It 
was  an  historic  pulpit;  here  Socrates  had  made  his 
apology,  and  Demosthenes  had  uttered  "breathing 
thoughts  in  burning  words."  Paul  was  equal  to  the 
occasion.  His  text  was  the  inscription  upon  an  altar 
in  the  market-place,  "To  the  unknown  God."  In 
his  discourse  he  showed  himself  a  master  of  dialec- 
tics. In  rounded  periods  he  set  forth  the  nature  and 
attributes  of  the  invisible  God.  He  drew  upon  his 
familiarity  with  Greek  literature  for  an  apt  quota- 
tion,— "We  are  also  his  offspring."  The  audience 
that  sat  upon  the  stone  steps  below  him  listened  with 
respectful  interest  until  he  ventured  to  speak  of  the 
Judgment:  "He  hath  appointed  a  day  in  which  he 
will  judge  the  world  in  righteousness  by  that  man 
whom   he    hath    ordained ;    whereof   he    hath  given 

(41) 


42  THE    GREAT    DAY. 

assurance  unto  all  men,  in  that  he  hath  raised  him 
from  the  dead."  At  this  point  the  sermon  was  inter- 
rupted by  derisive  outcries  and  the  assembly  was 
broken  up. 

Why  is  it  that  we  are  so  averse  to  a  frank  consider- 
ation of  this  theme  ?  We  are  like  children  frightened 
in  the  dark.  "  What  fools  we  mortals  be!  "  Horace 
Smith  said,  "  If  a  general  collection  were  taken  to 
head  off  the  Judgment,  the  great  Jehovah  would  get 
all  our  gold  and  the  world  would  go  begging  forever. " 
The  congregation  asks  for  pleasant  platitudes,  and 
the  preacher  shrinks  from  declaring  the  whole  counsel 
of  God.  Yet  our  faces  are  turned  toward  the  Judg- 
ment, and  the  issues  of  eternity  are  there.  Let  us, 
like  men,  confront  it. 

As  to  final  retribution  there  is  a  universal  consen- 
sus. The  heart  of  the  race  trembles  with  "  a  certain 
fearful  looking-for  of  judgment."  The  words  of 
Longfellow, 

"The  mills  of  God  grind  slowly, 
But  they  grind  exceeding  small; 
Though  with  patience  he  stands  waiting 
With  exactness  grinds  he  all." 

were  transcribed  from  the  German,  and  previously 
from  an  Oriental  couplet  running  back  beyond  the 
memory  of  man: 

"  God's  mills  grind  slow, 
But  they  grind  woe." 

It  stands  to  reason  that  the  present  order  of  things 
cannot  be  final.  We  are  living  in  a  topsy-turvy 
world.  There  is  little  of  justice  or  equity  in  human 
relations.     The  wicked   man  prospers,  makes  merry 


THE    GREAT    DAY.  43 

all  his  life  on  the  profits  of  evil  deeds,  is  followed  to 
the  tomb  by  an  imposing  procession,  and  transmits 
his  name  to  posterity  in  a  carven  catalogue  of  vir- 
tues. The  righteous  meanwhile  lives  from  hand  to 
mouth  and  dies  with  none  so  poor  to  do  him  rever- 
ence. Dives  arrayed  in  purple  and  fine  linen  fares 
sumptuously  every  day;  while  virtuous  Lazarus,  sit- 
ting at  his  gate,  begs  for  the  crumbs  that  fall  from  his 
table.  Is  there,  then,  no  justice  ?  A  Scotch  woman 
came  to  her  pastor  complaining  of  poverty,  "There 
are  so  many  mouths  and  so  little  bread."  He  com- 
forted her  with  the  assurance  that  the  gracious  God 
who  sends  mouths  sends  loaves  as  well.  "Aye,  min- 
ister, "  she  answered,  ' '  but  whiles  it  happens  he  sends 
the  mouths  to  ane  hoose  and  the  loaves  to  anither. " 
It  was  a  fair  statement  of  the  present  order.  What 
shall  we  conclude,  then  ?  There  must  be  a  final  adjust- 
ment. If  there  is  a  God  in  heaven,  he  must  level 
down  and  level  up  and  balance  the  books.  As  Anne 
of  Austria  said  to  Richelieu,  "God  is  a  sure  Pay- 
master; it  may  not  be  to-day,  nor  to-morrow;  but 
presently,  my  Lord  Cardinal,  he  will  administer 
justice  betwixt  thee  and  me." 

The  teaching  of  the  Scripture  as  to  this  matter  is 
very  clear.  Its  response  to  the  universal  intuition 
and  reason  is  Yea  and  Amen.  "  God  hath  appointed 
a  day  in  which  he  will  judge  the  world."  Now  it  is 
called  the  Day  of  Reckoning,  in  which  the  Master 
requires  his  servants  to  give  an  account  of  the  talents 
entrusted  to  them.  Now  it  is  the  Day  of  Ingather- 
ing, when  the  Husbandman  gathers  the  wheat  into 
his  garners  and  casts  the  tares  into  the  fire.  And 
now  it  is  the  Marriage  Day,  when  the  wise  pass  in  to 


44  THE   GREAT    DAY. 

mingle  in  the  merrymaking  of  the  Bridegroom's 
house,  while  the  foolish  stand  without,  knocking  and 
crying  vainly,  ''Lord,  Lord,  open  unto  us!"  But 
always  it  is  the  Great  Day.  It  is  the  day  toward 
which  all  the  solemn  hopes  and  purposes  of  the  pres- 
ent life  are  tending,  and  out  of  which  proceed  the 
momentous  possibilities  of  eternity. 

The  Scriptures  speak,  with  reference  to  the  gen- 
eral Judgment,  in  terms  of  oriental  imagery.  Indeed, 
all  great  spiritual  truths  are  conveyed  in  parables. 
We  are  but  children,  and  God  must  stoop  to  kinder- 
garten methods  if  he  would  instruct  us.  Yet  there  are 
little  people  who  overlook  the  stupendous  truth  in  their 
eagerness  to  pick  flaws  in  the  metaphor.  They  ask,  "Is 
the  adjudication  to  be  held  within  a  solar  day  ?"  "And 
will  it  be  ushered  in,  do  you  mean,  with  the  blowing 
of  a  ram's  horn  ?  "  These  are  the  cheeseparers  of 
scholarship — mere  triflers,  who  turn  their  microscopes 
upon  the  jot  and  tittle,  while  heedless  of  the  revelation 
that  glows  and  lightens  around  them.  They  waste 
their  privilege,  like  Charles  II,  who  busied  himself  in 
sticking  pins  through  moths  and  butterflies,  while 
Dutch  William  and  his  fleet  were  sailing  up  the 
Thames  to  capture  his  crown. 

Let  us  address  ourselves  to  the  solemn  truth.  The 
drama  of  destiny  is  before  us.  We  shall  best  arrive 
at  a  proper  apprehension  of  the  Judgment  if  we  view 
it  through  the  metaphors  of  Scripture.  What,  then, 
are  the  accessories  of  that  day  ? 

I.  The  Trumpet.  What  does  it  mean  ?  Resurrec- 
tion. "For,  behold,  I  show  you  a  mystery  ;  we 
shall  all  be  changed,  in  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling 
of  an  eye,  at  the  last  trump  :  for  the  trumpet  shall 


THE    GREAT    DAY.  45 

sound,  and  the  dead  shall  be  raised."  It  is  the 
reveille  of  the  sleeping  multitude;  to  some  like  a 
Tyrolean  wake-song,  to  others  a  tocsin  of  doom. 
"The  earth  and  the  sea  shall  give  up  their  dead." 
The  dust  of  those  who  sleep  in  all  graveyards — dust 
from  the  unknown  mountain  paths,  dust  from  the 
coral  crypts  of  mid-ocean — all  shall  reassemble  and 
come  forth  to  judgment.  Adam  and  Eve  will  be 
there  ;  the  antediluvians,  patriarchs  and  prophets; 
Pilate  and  the  rabbis  of  the  Sanhedrin,  the  noble 
army  of  martyrs;  saints  and  sinners  of  all  ages;  our 
soldiers  who  fell  in  the  trenches  before  Santiago — 
all  there ;   and  you  and  I  among  them. 

But  how  can  these  things  be  ?  The  earth  is  a  vast 
cemetery.  The  very  dust  that  blows  along  our 
streets  is  dust  of  the  dead.  Nevertheless  with  God 
all  things  are  possible;  nothing  is  too  hard  for  him. 
Shall  he  who  originally  created  man  by  a  fiat  be 
unable  to  restore  his  ashes,  though  scattered  to  the 
winds  ?  In  A.  D.  117,  in  the  persecution  under  Marcus 
Aurelius,  a  long  procession  of  Christian  martyrs  was 
brought  to  the  stake.  When  the  holocaust  was  over, 
the  emperor  caused  their  ashes  to  be  thrown  on  the 
waters  of  the  Rhone,  which  would  carry  them  to  the 
sea,  saying,  "  Let  us  see  if  the  God  of  the  Christians 
can  restore  these  to  life!"  But  who  art  thou  that 
opposest  thyself  to  the  Almighty  ?  Thou  dost  err, 
not  knowing  the  power  of  God.  At  the  sound  of 
the  trumpet  all  shall  awake  and  stand  before  him. 

II.  The  Throne;  the  great  white  throne.  What  does 
it  mean  ?  The  rounding-up  of  history.  This  is  the 
vision  that  Daniel  saw  in  a  vision  upon  his  bed:  the 
winds  of  heaven  strove  upon  the  sea,  and  four  great 


46  THE    GREAT    DAY. 

beasts  came  up,  diverse  one  from  another;  a  lion 
with  eagle's  wings,  a  bear  with  a  carcass  between  its 
jaws,  a  winged  leopard,  and  a  nondescript,  terrible 
and  strong  exceedingly,  with  iron  teeth  and  monstrous 
feet  of  power.  These  were  the  great  powers — Baby- 
lonia, Medo-Persia,  Macedonia  and  Rome.  One  by 
one  they  vanished,  and  a  throne  was  set  in  heaven, 
and  one  came  like  unto  the  Son  of  Man,  to  whom 
was  given  dominion  and  glory  and  a  kingdom,  that 
all  people  should  serve  him.  This  is  the  parable  of 
history.  Its  consummation  is  the  great  white  throne. 
Look  to  your  eyes! 

"  The  head  that  once  was  crowned  with  thorns 
Is  crowned  with  glory  now." 

The  Princess  Wilhelmina  of  Holland  was  recently 
enthroned  with  demonstrations  of  almost  unparalleled 
splendor.  But  how  paltry  are  such  earthly  coronations 
in  comparison  with  that  of  the  glorified  Son  of  Man! 
He  shall  take  his  place  upon  the  throne  as  Judge  of 
nations  and  of  every  one  of  the  children  of  men. 

Great  God,  what  do  I  see  and  hear? 

The  end  of  things  created  ; 
The  Judge  of  all  mankind  appear 

On  clouds  of  glory  seated. 
The  trumpet  sounds,  the  graves  restore 
The  dead  whom  they  contained  before  ! 

Prepare,  my  soul,  to  meet  him. 

III.  The  Books.  The  books  shall  be  opened  as 
the  basis  of  the  final  adjudication.     What  are    they? 

(i)  The  Book  of  Life.  This  is  the  roster  of  saints. 
It  is  called,  "  The  Lamb's  Book  of  Life,"  because  it 
contains  those  only  who  are  washed  in  his  blood. 
The  gate  of  heaven  bears  the  legend:  "There  shall  in 


THE    GREAT    DAY.  47 

no  wise  enter  here  anything  that  defileth,  neither 
whatsoever  worketh  abomination  or  maketh  a  lie;  but 
they  which  are  written  in  the  Lamb's  Book  of  Life." 
Here  is  the  momentous  question :  Is  my  natne  written 
there  ? 

(2)  The  Book  of  Remembrance.  This  was  written 
before  the  Lord  for  them  that  feared  him  and  thought 
upon  his  name  (Mai.  3,  16).  Our  words  and  actions 
and  very  thoughts  are  recorded  here.  We  live  before 
the  all-seeing  Eye  and  speak  as  into  a  phonograph 
which  treasures  all  for  the  final  reckoning.  And 
when  the  scroll  shall  be  unrolled  before  us,  our  mem- 
ories shall  affirm  the  record:  "Thou  didst  it,"  or 
"Thou  didst  it  not." 

(3)  The  Book  of  Judgment.  This  is  the  Lord's 
Ledger,  in  which  all  balances  are  drawn.  By  this 
his  vindication  shall  be  made  clear  as  the  noon-day. 
In  view  of  its  revelations  the  lost  and  saved  alike 
shall  exclaim,  "The  judgments  of  the  Lord  are  true 
and  righteous  altogether!  "  In  the  light  of  this  final 
clearance  it  will  be  seen  that  God  makes  no  mistakes 
and  that  the  strange  providences  of  the  earthly  life 
were  in  full  accord  with  equity.  In  the  pages  of  this 
Book  of  Judgment  there  is  one  deed  which  will  shine 
resplendent  above  all,  to  wit,  the  acceptance  of  re- 
demption in  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ.  For  faith  in 
his  gospel  is  the  only  saving  work;  as  it  is  written, 
"This  is  the  work  of  God  that  ye  believe  on  him 
whom  he  hath  sent." 

Luther  relates,  in  one  of  his  letters,  that  the  great 
adversary  came  to  him  in  a  dream,  saying,  "  I  have 
looked  into  the  Book  of  Judgment  and  have  seen  the 
black   record  of  thy  sins. "     As  the  accuser  enumer- 


48  THE    GREAT    DAY. 

ated  them,  the  dreamer  was  overwhelmed  with 
despair.  Then  he  looked  to  God  in  prayer  and 
answered,  "  I,  too,  have  gazed  into  the  Book  of  Judg- 
ment, and,  as  thou  sayest,  my  sins  are  all  recorded 
there;  but  I  saw  one  entry  to  my  credit  which  thou 
hast  overlooked  ;  namely,  '  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ 
cleanseth  this  man  from  all  sin.'  " 

IV.  And  then,  Separation.  The  fisher  draws  his  net 
to  shore,  saving  the  good  and  casting  the  worthless 
back  into  the  sea.  The  vinedresser  with  his  pruning 
knife  enters  the  vineyard,  sparing  the  living  branches 
and  cutting  away  the  worthless  for  the  flames.  The 
shepherd  with  his  crook  divides  the  sheep  from  the 
goats — the  sheep  on  the  right  side  and  the  goats  on 
the  left.  There  are  but  two  sides;  there  is  no  mid- 
dle ground.  To  these  the  Lord  says,  "Come,  ye 
blessed!  "  and  the  gates  of  heaven  open  before  them. 
To  those,  "  Depart,  I  never  knew  you!  "  There  they 
go  to  "their  own  place."  Where  that  place  is,  it 
matters  not;  we  know  it  is  afar  from  God.  The  outer 
darkness  is  exile  from  him.  No  more  to  behold  His 
face;  no  more  to  hear  the  message  of  grace — this  is 
fire  unquenchable.  We  speak  of  lost  souls;  but 
indeed  the  sorrow  is  not  that  the  soul  itself  is  lost, 
but  that  it  has  lost  God. 

V.  And  this  disposition  of  things  is  final.  We  hear 
in  certain  quarters  of  a  "larger  hope,"  by  which  is 
meant  the  possibility  of  restoration  after  death.  This 
"larger  hope"  is  not  in  the  Book.  We  find  there 
"  aiones  ton  aionon,"  which  all  the  torturing  of  eager 
scholars  cannot  twist  into  aught  but  "forever  and 
ever."  And  there  is  the  "great  gulf  fixed;"  fixed 
and  bridgeless  forever.     There  too  is  the  crystalliza- 


THE    GREAT    DAY.  49 

tion  of  character  at  the  dead  line:  "He  that  is  unjust, 
let  him  be  unjust  still;  he  that  is  filthy,  let  him  be 
filthy  still;  he  that  is  holy,  let  him  be  holy  still;  and 
he  that  is  righteous,  let  him  be  righteous  still."  The 
eternal  punishment  of  the  incorrigibly  wicked  is  not 
because  of  divine  ordinance,  but  on  account  of  the 
inevitable  fixity  of  character.  The  twelve  gates  of 
heaven  shall  never  be  shut;  but  souls  that  dwell  in 
the  outer  darkness,  having  wasted  their  probation 
and  stereotyped  their  characters  in  habitual  sin,  must 
be  forever  indisposed  to  enter  in;  since,  in  truth, 
heaven  would  to  them  be  more  painful  than  hell. 
Thus  neither  in  Scripture  nor  in  reason  is  there  room 
for  the  "larger  hope."  Be  not  deceived;  whatsoever 
a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap.  In  the  place 
where  the  tree  falleth,  there  shall  it  be. 

What  then  ?  Our  great  duty  is  Preparation.  The 
King  of  Persia  called  his  grand  vizier  and  courtiers, 
and  asked  of  them,  "What  condition  in  life  is  most 
to  be  deplored  ?  "  One  answered,  "A  friendless  old 
age";  another,  "Poverty";  still  another,  "To  be 
bedridden  in  hopeless  pain."  But  the  grand  vizier 
said,  "It  is  to  pass  through  life  unmindful  of  the 
future,  and  suddenly  to  be  called  unprepared  before 
the  judgment-seat  of  God." 

A  wise  preparation  for  eternity  must  be  twofold. 
On  the  one  hand,  pardon  of  sin.  No  man  who  has 
refused  redemption  in  Christ  can  stand  with  the  re- 
deemed in  the  Great  Day.  One  thing  can  never  enter 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven;  to  wit,  an  unforgiven  sin. 
All  who  have  traveled  among  the  petty  states  of  Con- 
tinental Europe  will  remember  the  vexations  attend- 
ant on  the   search    for   contraband  goods.     No  man 


50  THE    GREAT    DAY. 

can  cross  the  border  line  that  separates  between  time 
and  eternity  and  enter  Canaan  with  an  unforgiven 
sin.  But  why  should  he  ?  Behold  the  Christ  up- 
lifted and  the  pierced  hands  stretched  out!  Hearken 
to  the  voice  of  mercy:  "  Come  now,  let  us  reason 
together,  saith  the  Lord ;  though  your  sins  be  as  scar- 
let, they  shall  be  as  white  as  snow;  though  they  be 
red  like  crimson,  they  shall  be  as  wool."  My  friends, 
how  shall  we  escape  if  we  neglect  so  great  salvation, 
so  free,  so  plain,  so  glorious  ?  And  what  excuse  can 
a  man  make  if  he  appear  without  this  garment  at  the 
marriage  of  the  King's  Son  ? 

And  then  a  holy  and  consistent  life.  This  is  impossible 
until  we  have  "done  the  first  works."  No  man  can 
serve  God  with  the  record  of  themislived  past  pursu- 
ing him.  It  is  like  a  prisoner's  ball  and  chain.  Get 
rid  of  it  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ;  and  then  proceed 
to  live.  Live  as  becometh  those  who  have  gratefully 
aceepted  the  heavenly  grace.  Follow  close  in  the 
footsteps  of  Jesus,  whose  ye  are  and  whom  ye  serve. 
Do  your  duty  every  hour  of  every  day  and  fear  not! 

In  1780  a  strange  darkness  overspread  New  Eng- 
land; it  is  known  in  history  as  "The  Dark  Day." 
The  Legislature  of  Connecticut  was  in  session  at 
Hartford  and  the  members  were  seized  with  panic, 
thinking  that  the  Judgment  was  at  hand.  The 
president  of  the  assembly  said,  "Gentlemen,  if  this 
is  not  the  Great  Day  we  are  foolishly  alarmed;  if  it 
is,  we  cannot  be  better  found  than  in  the  discharge 
of  duty.  I  ask,  therefore,  that  candles  may  be  lighted 
and  brought  in."  Such  is  the  wise  method  of  life. 
If  we  have  committed  our  salvation  to  Christ,  and 
consecrated  our  lives  to  him,  let  us  borrow  no  trouble, 


THE    GREAT    DAY.  5 1 

give  way  to  no  apprehension,  but  attend  to  present 
duty  and  watch.  Aye,  ever  watch;  for  we  know  not 
at  what  hour  the  Son  of  Man  cometh.  Let  your  door 
be  on  the  latch;  let  your  lamps  be  trimmed  and 
burning.  It  may  be  that  he  shall  come  at  evening, 
or  at  the  cock-crow,  or  in  the  morning;  and  blessed 
are  those  servants  whom  the  Lord,  when  he  cometh, 
shall  find  watching. 


PETER'S  FALL. 

"And  when  he  thought  thereon,  he  wept."— Mark  14,  72. 

On  the  night  when  Jesus  was  apprehended  in  the 
garden,  there  was  a  panic  among  his  friends;  they  all 
forsook  him  and  fled.  Peter  following  afar  off  came 
to  the  High  Priest's  palace,  entered  and  stood  by 
the  fire  in  the  open  court.  The  maid  at  the  wicket 
looking  intently  at  him  said,  "Thou  also  wast  with 
Jesus."  He  replied,  "  I  know  not  what  thou  sayest. " 
Presently  one  asked,  "Art  not  thou  one  of  his 
disciples?"  He  denied,  saying,  "I  am  not."  And 
later  still  one  of  the  company,  a  friend  of  Malchus 
whom  Peter  had  wounded  in  the  garden,  said,  "Of 
a  truth  this  fellow  also  was  with  him."  Then  he 
began  to  curse  and  to  swear,  lapsing  into  the  bil- 
lingsgate of  his  earlier  life,  protesting  vehemently, 
"I  know  not  the  man!" 

All  four  of  the  Evangelists  relate  this  incident,  but 
in  different  ways.  Matthew,  the  publican,  gives  us 
a  matter-of-fact  statement,  as  passionless  as  an  official 
tax-list.  Luke,  the  beloved  physician,  enters  some- 
what more  into  particulars,  as  if  making  a  diagnosis 
of  the  case;  he  alone  mentions  the  intentness  with 
which  the  damsel  peered  into  Peter's  face;  he  alone 

(52) 


PETER  S   FALL.  53 

says,  "The  Lord  turned  and  looked  upon  Peter." 
John,  the  apostle  of  charity  and  Peter's  friend,  relates 
the  occurrence  as  briefly  as  possible,  omitting  its 
most  harrowing  details  and  making  no  mention  what- 
ever of  the  profanity.  But  Mark,  who  was  Peter's 
personal  companion  and  probably  wrote  under  his 
immediate  dictation,  recounts  all.  His  account  is  in 
the  nature  of  an  autographical  confession ;  its  frank- 
ness reminds  us  of  what  Cromwell  said  to  the  court 
painter;   "Portray  me,"  said  he,  "scars  and  all." 

It  is  a  sad  story,  and  we  search  in  vain  for  extenu- 
ating circumstances.  Bring  it  before  any  jury  of 
tried  men  and  true,  and  their  verdict  would  be 
"  Guilty,"  without  a  recommendation  to  mercy.  The 
case  is  aggravated  by  the  fact  that  Peter  had  proba- 
bly a  deeper  insight  than  any  of  his  companions  into 
the  personality  of  Jesus;  it  was  he  who  had  witnessed 
the  good  confession,  "Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  son 
of  the  living  God."  He  was  one  of  the  chosen 
three  who  were  received  into  the  inner  place  of  the 
Lord's  confidence.  He  had  been  with  Jesus  on  the 
Mount  of  Transfiguration;  had  seen  the  homespun 
garments  of  the  Nazarene  flutter  aside,  revealing  his 
royal  purple.  Still  further,  Christ  had  admonished 
him :  "  Satan  hath  desired  to  have  thee  that  he  might 
sift  thee  as  wheat;  but  I  have  prayed  for  thee  that 
thy  faith  fail  not."  In  view  of  such  considerations 
it  would  appear  that  the  offense  could  scarcely  have 
been  worse.  He  had  been  forewarned,  should  have 
been  forearmed,  and  knew  that  Christ  was  praying 
for  him. 

How,  then,  did  it  happen  ?  The  inquiry  is  impor- 
tant; since  we  are  all  exposed  to  similar  temptation 


54  PETER'S   FALL. 

and  liable  to  deny  our  Lord.  Happy  is  the  Christian 
who  has  never  said,  by  word  or  action,  "  I  know  him 
not." 

I.  The  fall  of  Peter  was  primarily  due  to  thought- 
lessness. He  was  an  impulsive  man.  We  call  him 
"blundering  Peter."  On  that  memorable  night 
when  Jesus  girt  himself  with  a  towel  and,  with 
basin  in  hand,  went  about  to  wash  his  disciples'  feet, 
he  came  to  Peter  and,  lo!  a  mutiny.  "Thou  shalt 
never  wash  my  feet!  "he  cried.  "  If  I  wash  thee 
not, "  said  Jesus,  ' '  thou  hast  no  part  with  me. "  Then, 
without  an  instant's  hesitation,  he  sped  from  one 
blunder  to  another,  exclaiming,  "Lord,  not  my  feet 
only,  but  my  hands  and  my  head  also."  Thus,  after 
his  custom,  he  spoke  first  and  thought  afterward. 
But,  alas!  we  who  live  in  glass  houses  should  be  slow 
to  throw  stones  at  him. 

Here  is  our  common  fault.  We  invest  our  funds 
in  losing  ventures  for  want  of  thought.  We  vote  the 
wrong  ticket  on  election  day  for  want  of  thought. 
We  alienate  our  friends,  give  way  to  ill  temper  at 
home  and  trouble  the  neighborhood,  for  want  of 
thought.  We  fall  into  evil  habits  and  indulge  our- 
selves until  they  bind  us  as  with  adamantine  chains, 
for  want  of  thought.  We  run  with  the  multitude  to 
do  evil,  waste  our  best  privileges  and  golden  oppor- 
tunities, and  reject  the  overtures  of  divine  mercy,  for 
want  of  thought.  The  blast  of  the  judgment  trumpet 
startles  us  in  the  midst  of  a  heedless  career  and  we 
stand  before  the  great  assize  with  no  answer  to  the 
long  indictment  but  this,  "  I  did  not  think."  It  is  a 
child's  excuse.  O  men  and  women  made  in  God's 
likeness  and  hastening  to  eternity,  it  is  our  business 


PETER  S   FALL.  55 

to  think.  Here  are  three  words  for  the  guidance  of 
earnest  people  in  the  face  of  duty  and  responsibility, 
Stop  and  think!  For  indeed  an  ounce  of  prevention  is 
always  worth  a  pound  of  cure. 

II.  Self-confidence  also  had  much  to  do  with  Peter's 
fall.  Just  before  the  crucifixion  Jesus  had  said  to  his 
disciples,  "All  ye  shall  be  offended  because  of  me 
this  night;  for  it  is  written,  '  I  will  smite  the  shepherd 
and  the  sheep  shall  be  scattered.'  "  But  Peter  said, 
"  Though  all  men  shall  be  offended  because  of  thee, 
yet  will  I  never  be  offended."  And  when  Jesus  con- 
tinued, "Verily  I  say  unto  thee  that  this  night  before 
the  cock  crow  thou  shalt  deny  me  thrice,"  he  pro- 
tested the  more  vehemently,  "  Though  I  should  die 
with  thee,  yet  will  I  not  deny  thee!  " 

"  Beware  of  Peter's  word, 

Nor  confidently  say, 
'  I  never  will  deny  my  Lord,' 
But,  '  Grant  I  never  may.'" 

A  few  years  ago  it  was  my  privilege  to  welcome 
into  the  fellowship  of  the  church  a  young  man  who 
had  been  plucked  as  a  brand  from  the  burning.  He 
was  a  rough  diamond  like  Peter,  and  very  confident 
in  his  own  strength.  "Do  you  think,"  I  asked, 
"that  you  will  be  able  to  hold  out?"  His  answer 
might  have  been  Peter's  own;  "I  assure  you  that 
whenever  I  set  out  to  accomplish  anything  I  get  there 
with  both  feet."  It  is  safe  to  say  that  his  subsequent 
experience  has  taught  him  humility  and  the  need  of 
dependence  on  divine  help.  "Let  him  that  thinketh 
he  standeth  take  heed  lest  he  fall." 

He  is  a  wise  man  who  knows  his  own  limitations; 
who  knows  also  the  craft  and  power  of  his  adversary; 


56  peter's  fall. 

and  who  knows  above  all  the  sustaining  grace  of  God. 
Pride  goeth  before  a  fall.  I  will  look  unto  the  hills 
from  whence  cometh  my  help!  "We  wrestle  not 
against  flesh  and  blood,  but  against  principalities  and 
powers  and  world-rulers  of  darkness."  Blessed  is 
the  man  who  confronts  temptation  as  David  went  to 
meet  the  Philistine  champion,  saying,  "Thou  comest 
to  me  with  sword  and  spear  but  I  come  to  thee  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord  of  hosts!  "  Our  strength  is  in 
a  sense  of  utter  dependence.  Let  our  prayer  be, 
"  O  Lord,  hold  thou  me  up." 

III.  It  should  be  observed,  furthermore,  that 
Peter's  temptation  found  him  at  the  ebb  tide  of 
devotion.  It  may  be  that  his  sensibilities  were 
dulled  by  previous  days  and  nights  of  anxiety  and 
foreboding.  In  any  case  the  record  sadly  says,  "  He 
followed  Jesus  afar  off."  He  could  hear  in  the  dis- 
tance the  outcries  of  the  rabble  who  were  leading  his 
Lord  to  judgment,  could  see  their  flaming  torches; 
and  he  went  skulking  in  the  rear. 

The  word  of  the  Master  is,  "  If  any  man  will  come 
after  me,  let  him  deny  himself,  take  up  his  cross  and 
follow  me."  So,  then,  it  is  one  thing  to  come  after 
him,  and  another  to  follow  him.  How  shall  we  fol- 
low him  ?  As  a  sheep  follows  a  shepherd  ?  Aye;  but 
the  silly  sheep  nibbling  by  the  way  may  lag  behind 
and  be  lost  ;  and  the  shepherd  must  needs  go  out 
and  seek  until  he  find  it.  As  a  child  follows  its 
mother?  Aye;  but  the  child  plucking  flowers  and 
chasing  butterflies  may  awake  to  sudden  fright  and 
bewilderment,  and  the  mother  must  go  seeking  after 
it.  Nay,  rather,  let  us  follow  Christ  as  a  tourist  fol- 
lows his  guide  along  the  Alpine  heights;  roped  fast 


peter's  fall.  57 

to  him,  safe  in  his  guide's  safety,  falling  only  when 
he  falls.  If  we  are  given  over  to  doubts,  if  we  lack 
assurance,  if  we  are  averse  to  duty,  if  we  find  our- 
selves disheartened,  if  the  fine  edge  of  our  devotion 
is  dulled,  it  is  because  we  have  severed  the  vital  bond. 
Come  closer,  friend,  and  follow  in  his  steps.  Enter 
into  such  sympathetic  union  with  him  that,  like 
Roland  Hill,  you  may  say: 

"So  close  is  my  friendship  with  Jesus,  I  find, 
He  can't  go  to  heaven  and  leave  me  behind." 

IV.  And  while  we  are  inquiring  the  causes  of 
Peter's  fall,  we  must  not  omit  his  evil  companion- 
ship. He  stood  in  the  open  court  with  the  soldiers;  it 
was  a  chill  night  and  they  had  kindled  a  fire;  "and 
he  sat  with  the  servants  and  warmed  himself  by 
the  fire." 

A  Scotch  woman  commenting  on  this  incident  said 
quaintly,  "He  had  nae  business  among  the  flunkeys. " 
It  is  not  possible,  however,  to  avoid  association  with 
the  enemies  of  Christ.  We  must  mingle  with  them 
more  or  less  closely  on  the  street,  in  business  life, 
in  society  and  everywhere.  But  one  thing  is  pos- 
sible; that  is,  to  avoid  warming  ourselves  at  their 
fire.  "Be  not  thou  partaker  of  their  evil  deeds." 
We  must  be  in  the  world ;  but  we  need  not  be  of  it. 

John  was  as  near  to  the  enemies  of  Jesus  as  was 
Peter  that  night.  He  was  in  the  judgment  hall  with 
scribes  and  soldiers  all  about  him ;  but,  fortunately 
for  John,  he  was  wholly  out  of  sympathy  with  them : 
his  heart  was  with  the  prisoner  at  the  bar.  Not  so 
Peter;  he  was  with  the  enemies  of  Christ  and 
desired  to  be  accounted  one  of  them.     Evil  associa- 


58  peter's  fall. 

tions  corrupt  good  morals  as  well  as  good  manners. 
We  cannot  help  our  environment  always,  but  by 
divine  help  we  can  keep  ourselves  above  it. 

In  my  judgment,  the  most  unworthy  piece  of 
statuary  in  our  city, — a  city  distinguished  for  its 
public  exhibit  of  ignoble  art, — is  that  of  William  E. 
Dodge  in  Herald  Square.  This  statue  is  unspeak- 
ably awkward  and  feeble.  Not  so  its  original.  He 
was  a  robust  and  erect  man.  Being  in  attendance  at 
a  banquet  at  Fortress  Monroe  where  wine  was  served, 
he  dared  to  be  singular  in  turning  down  his  glass. 
He  resigned  his  membership  in  the  Union  League 
because  it  provided  a  bar  for  the  sale  of  intoxicating 
drinks.  He  withdrew  from  directorship  in  three 
railroads  because  they  insisted  on  running  Sunday 
trains.  Here  was  a  man  connected  with  almost  all 
the  great  enterprises  of  our  metropolis.  He  could 
not  avoid  his  association  with  irreligious  people;  but 
he  declined  to  warm  his  hands  at  their  fire.  We 
should  do  likewise.  "Be  ye  not  conformed  to  this 
world,  but  be  ye  transformed  by  the  renewing  of 
your  mind,  that  ye  may  prove  what  is  that  good  and 
perfect  and  acceptable  will  of  God." 

V.  But  back  of  all  Peter's  faults  was  arrant  cow- 
ardice. He  fell  before  the  pointed  finger  of  a  maid- 
servant. O  the  poltroon,  put  to  rout  by  a  pointed 
finger!  Had  it  been  a  leveled  spear,  he  might  have 
braved  it;  for,  indeed,  no  weapon  is  fiercer  than  ridi- 
cule.    We  blanch  and  tremble  before  it. 

We  are  not  in  a  position  to  deal  hardly  with  this 
man.  There  are  joints  in  every  harness.  In  the 
stress  of  temptation  we  all  need  to  "screw  our  cour- 
age  to    the    sticking  place."     Napoleon,   whom   the 


PETER  S   FALL.  59 

terrors  of  the  fiercest  battle-field  could  not  move,  was 
smitten  with  dismay  by  the  sound  of  a  mouse  nibbling 
in  the  wall.  I  recently  asked  a  non-commissioned 
officer  of  the  Rough  Riders  if  he  was  sensible  of  fear 
in  the  assault  on  San  Juan.  He  replied,  "I  can't 
speak  for  others;  but  as  for  myself  I  was  scared  stiff. 
We  threw  ourselves  down  under  a  tempest  of  leaden 
hail,  and  just  then  I  saw  the  colored  troops  sweeping 
past  singing  a  camp-meeting  hymn.  I  heard  one  of 
them,  as  a  shell  burst  overhead,  cry,  '  No  use,  Mister 
Shell,  no  use!  We's  gwine  to  reach  de  top! '  Then 
I  heard  the  command,  '  Forward  ! '  And  the  next  I 
knew  I  was  standing  by  the  blockhouse  with  a  col- 
ored man  on  either  side  of  me. "  It  is  thus  that  victo- 
ries are  won.  O,  for  the  inspiration  of  the  battle's 
heat!  O,  for  a  clear  vision  of  the  white  plume  of  our 
Henry  of  Navarre  !  O,  for  a  fear-dispelling  hope  of 
triumph! 

The  story  of  Peter  does  not  end  with  his  downfall. 
There  is  a  glorious  sequel.  No  sooner  had  he  uttered 
the  fateful  words  of  denial  than  the  cock  crew;  and 
never  did  chanticleer  carry  such  a  message  to  the 
heart  of  man.  Then  Peter  lifting  up  his  eyes,  saw 
Jesus  yonder  in  the  judgment  hall;  and  the  Lord 
turned  and  looked  upon  him.  It  was  a  look  of 
reproach  and  infinite  tenderness  of  love.  And  he 
"went  out  and  wept  bitterly."  Then  came  three 
days  of  shame  and  self-reproach.  He  wandered  alone 
in  his  bitter  sorrow.  At  night  he  awoke  from  troubled 
dreams  to  hear  himself  saying,  "I  never  knew  him!" 
At  length  one  came  saying,  "The  Master  is  dead; 
come  to  the  upper-room  and  weep  with  us."  But 
he  could  not.      "Leave  me  to  my  shame,"  he  said. 


60  peter's  fall. 

Then  another  said,  "Jesus  is  risen  and  hath  sent  a 
message  to  thee."  But  the  nightmare  of  his  sin  was 
still  upon  him. 

One  morning  in  the  twilight  he  was  with  his  com- 
panions in  the  fishing  boat,  when  a  lone  figure  was 
seen  walking  on  the  shore.  They  whispered  among 
themselves,  "  It  is  the  Lord."  Peter  could  not  wait. 
In  a  passion  of  repentant  love  he  threw  off  his  fish- 
er's coat  and  sprang  into  the  water;  and  a  moment 
later  he  stood  dripping  before  his  Lord.  "Simon, 
son  of  Jonas  [alas,  his  old  name!],  lovest  thou  me  ? " 
"Yea,  Lord,  thou  knowest  that  I  love  thee."  And 
again,  "Simon,  son  of  Jonas,  lovest  thou  me?" 
"Yea,  Lord,  thou  knowest  that  I  love  thee."  Then 
a  third  time,  "  Simon,  son  of  Jonas,  lovest  thou  me  ?  " 
And  Peter  said,  "Lord,  thou  knowest  all  things — 
my  sin,  my  shame,  my  remorse,  my  penitence — and 
thou  knowest  that  I  love  thee!  "  Thus  he  was  restored 
to  the  apostolate.  And  from  that  time  he  never 
blushed  to  own  his  Lord.  He  earned  his  knighthood 
as  the  "man  of  rock."  He  stood  before  kings,  met 
persecution  with  a  courageous  front,  became  a 
familiar  acquaintance  of  scourge  and  prison  damp, 
braved  the  terrors  and  weariness  of  missionary  toil, 
and  at  length  went  through  the  gates  of  Rome  to 
martyrdom.  A  moment  later  as  he  entered  on  his 
heavenly  reward,  we  may  believe  that  to  the  gracious 
word  of  welcome  he  replied,  "Now,  Lord,  thou 
knowest  that  I  love  thee!  " 

But,  perhaps,  friend,  you  have  no  interest  in  this 
narrative.  Ah,  happy  man!  Have  you  never  fallen 
from  grace  ?  Have  you  never  been  silent  when  the 
name   of  the  Master  was   blasphemed  ?     Have  you 


peter's  fall.  6i 

cast  no  reproach  upon  the  character  of  Jesus  by 
inconsistent  walk  and  conversation  ?  Have  you  had 
no  occasion  to  chide  yourself  for  base  ingratitude  ? 
Alas!  how  have  we  all  denied  and  grieved  him  by 
conformity  to  the  fashions  of  a  wicked  world,  by 
neglect  of  duty,  by  indulgence  in  sin!  Let  us  re- 
turn to  our  first  love.  Let  the  past  suffice  for  luke- 
warmness  and  cowardice  and  worldliness.  Let  us 
come  close  to  our  Master,  follow  in  his  steps,  be  true 
to  our  conviction  and  faithful  unto  death ;  that  so 
we  may  receive  the  crown  of  life.  If  we  have  sinned 
as  Peter  sinned,  let  us  make  quite  sure  that  we  have 
repented  as  he  did;  and  that  we  may  meet  our  Lord 
with  his  avowal  at  the  last,  "Thou  knowest  that  I 
love  thee! " 


HOW  FELIX  LOST  HIS  OPPORTUNITY. 

"And  as  he  reasoned  of  righteousness,  temperance,  and  judgment  to  come, 
Felix  trembled,  and  answered,  Go  thy  way  for  this  time ;  when  I  have  a  con- 
venient season,  I  will  call  for  thee,"— Acts.  24,  25. 

The^man  trembled,  and  well  he  might.  He  desired- 
entertainment,  but  not  such  as  was  here  provided  for 
him.  He  was  a  worn-out  epicure  who,  if  we  may  trust 
the  chronicles,  had  swung  around  the  circle  of  pleasure 
and  surfeited  his  soul.  A  happy  thought  now  oc- 
curred to  him.  He  had  among  his  prisoners  a  fol- 
lower of  the  crucified  Nazarene  who  wats  famed  for 
logic  and  eloquence;  him  would  Felix  summon  to 
display  his  powers  in  the  judgment  hall.  So  Paul 
was  brought  and  required  to  speak  "concerning  the 
faith  in  Christ."  ^>      i -^iu/«.j 

What-shouidrire  Bay?  He  was  a  man  of  mean  pres- 
ence, dim-eyed,  stoop-shouldered  and  loaded  with 
chains.  On  the  one  hand  Caution  whispered  to  him, 
"  Take  heed  how  you  offend  this  magistrate;"  on  the 
other,  Conscience  said,  "Quit  you  like  a  man!" 
Caution  said,  "-G««*y-favor-with4iim  by  a  -little  harm- 
less-flattery ; "  Conscience  whispered,  "No  fear  nor 
favor  now!  Deliver  your  message  as  an  ambassador 
of  Christ.  Bring  this  libertine  to  his  knees;  make 
him  cringe  before  God !  " 

Then  Paul  began,  to  speak.     His  sermon  was  under 

(62) 


HOW    FELIX    LOST    HIS   OPPORTUNITY.  63 

three  heads :  First,  righteousness.  And  as  Felix  listened 
he^»»&t-feaye  se&med  to  hear  voices  from  above  crying, 
* '  Holy,  holy,  holy !  "  and  another  from  within,  ' '  Thou 
art  a  guilty  man!  "  Second,  temperance  ;  rath©rrcon- 
tinence.  Here  the  man  changed  color ;  for  his  shame- 
less vices  were  matter  of  common  fame.  He  looked 
into  the  face  of  Drusilla,  the  third  of  his  unlawful 
queens,  and  tried  to  smile.  And  the  preacher,  heedless 
of  his  confusion  went  right  on.  Third,  judgment  to 
come.  Then  the  eyes  of  Felix  fell  and  his  courage  failed 
him.  The  scene  was  like  that  in  Belshazzar's  palace 
when  an  unseen  hand  wrote,  Mene,  Tekely  Upharsin 
along  the  wall.  And  still  the  preacher  w&rit-merci- 
lessiyon.  He  "  reasoned  "  of  these  verities;  therewas 
no_ranting  or  fierce  objurgation;  but  logic  glowing 
and  irresistible.  And  Felix  moved  uneasily;  his  color 
change^;  he  tremble^. 

Now  is  his  opportunity.  The  truth  has  smitten  to 
his  heart,  to  his  conscience,  to  the  marrow  of  his 
bones.  What  will  he  do?  He  opens  his  lips.  Will 
he  echo  the  words  of  the  Philippian  jailer,  "What 
shall  I  do  to  be  saved?  "  Will  he  beat  upon  his  guilty 
breast,  like  the  publican,  crying,  "God  be  merciful 
to  me  a  sinner"  ?  If  so,  there  is  mercy  on  the-instarrt 
for  him.  He  is  not  far  from  the  kingdom  of  God. 
Oh,  if  he  will  but  summon  his  resolution  now;  if  he 
will  but  "screw  his  courage  to  the  sticking  point "! 
God  is  so  ready  to  forgive.  The  gates  of  a  better 
life  are  open  to  Felix;  and  the  world  may  yet  revere 
him  as  a  just  and  gracious  man.  The  supreme 
moment  is  at  hand.  What  shall  be  its  issue?  Life 
or  death?  He  speaks:  "Go  thy  way  for  this  time; 
when  I  have  a  convenient  season,  I  will  call  for  thee. " 


64  HOW    FELIX    LOST    HIS   OPPORTUNITY. 

"  To  each  man's  life  there  comes  a  time  supreme, 
One  day,  one  night,  one  morning  or  one  noon, 
One  freighted  hour,  one  moment  opportune, 
One  rift  through  which  sublime  fulfilments  gleam, 
One  space  when  fate  goes  tiding  with  the  stream, 
One  Once  in  balance  twixt  Too  Late,  Too  Soon, 
And  ready  for  the  passing  instant's  boon 
To  tip  in  favor  of  uncertain  beam. 
Ah,  happy  he  who,  knowing  how  to  wait, 

Knows  also  how  to  watch  and  work,  and  stand 
On  Life's  broad  deck  alert,  and  at  the  prow 
To  seize  the  passing  moment,  big  with  fate, 
From  opportunity's  extended  hand, 
When  the  great  clock  of  destiny  strikes  NOW  ! " 

The  story  of  Felix  was  written  for  our  admonition. 
God  grant  that  like  an  arrow  it  may-smite  between 
-  the  joints  of  some  man's  harness  here.  It  is  a  porten- 
tous thing  for  an  hour  of  opportunity  to  come  and  go. 
Yours  is  at  hand.  What  will  you  do  with  it  ?  Let  us 
inquire  the  reasons  for  the  default  of  Felix  at  this 
juncture ;  for  it  is  probable  that  his  excuses  and  subter- 
fuges were  such  as  are  common  among  us. 

I.  He  would  have  said,  "I  wish  to  know  more 
about  this  new  religion.  One  must  not  be  precipi- 
tate in  a  matter  of  uch  consequence.  I  will  send 
for  this  prisoner  agaii.  «md  make  further  investiga- 
tion." 

Observe  how  he  deceived  himself.  He  knew 
enough,  and  he  knew  that  he  knew  enough,  for  the 
purpose  in  hand.  It  was  not  necessary  that  he 
should  be  a  philosopher  or  acquainted  with  the  deep 
problems  of  theology  in  order  to  accept  Christ  as  his 
deliverer  from  sin.  A  man  need  not  be  a  botanist, 
like  Linnaeus,  to  detect  the  perfume  of  the  lily  or 
see  God's  name  on  its  white  vesture.     He  need  not  be 


HOW    FELIX    LOST    HIS   OPPORTUNITY.  65 

an  expert  in  astronomy,  like  Kepler  or  Galileo,  to 
feel  the  deep  lesson  of  the  starry  dome:  "  When  I 
consider  the  heavens  the  work  of  thy  fingers,  what  is 
man  that  thou  art  mindful  of  him  ?" 

The  essential  facts  of  religion  are  very  clear;  as  it 
is  written,  "An  highway  shall  be  there  and  a  way; 
the  wayfaring  men,  though  fools,  shall  not  err 
therein."  Felix  knew  sin;  felt  it  in  his  heart  and 
conscience;  was  aware  that  retribution  must  follow 
it.  He  knew  that  he  was  bound  to  die,  and  after 
death  the  judgment.  He  knew  that  Jesus  had  died 
upon  the  cross,  bearing  the  world's  sin;  and  he  had 
heard  the  statement,  "He  that  believeth  hath  ever- 
lasting life."  Thus  he  was  as  familiar  as  we  are  with 
these  essential  facts  of  the  Christian  religion.  All 
that  God  asks  of  any  man  is  that  he  shall  bring  his 
life  up  to  the  full  measure  of  his  light. 

II.  As  a  further  reason  for  the  postponement  of  his 
decision,  Felix  would  probably  have  said  that  he  must 
first  relieve  his  mind  of  distracting  cares.  The  office 
of  procurator  was  no  sinecure.  It  was  no  easy  mat- 
ter to  look  after  the  interests  of  the  turbulent  Jews. 
A  considerable  correspondence  must  be  carried  on 
with  Rome.  Felix  was  indeed  an  exceedingly  busy 
man.  He  must  clear  his  docket  of  pending  cases 
before  he  could  give  serious  attention  to  religion. 

There  are  many  busy  people  who  thus  delude  them- 
selves. The  cares  of  this  world  crowd  religion  to  the 
wall.  Clerks  and  capitalists,  professional  men  and 
handicraftsmen,  all  plead  alike  the  pressure  of  busi- 
ness. A  child  asked  her  mother,  "Are  you  going  to 
heaven?"  "Yes,  my  dear,  I  hope  so." — "Then,  Mam- 
ma, I  must  be  going  too;  else  it  will  be  very,  very 


66  HOW    FELIX    LOST    HIS   OPPORTUNITY. 

lonely  for  you." — "But  why,  dear?  Your  father  will 
be  there." — "No,  Mamma,"  she  replied,  "he  can't 
possibly  leave  the  store."  It  was  a  juvenile  para- 
phrase of  the  Tares  and  Wheat. 

We  are  naturally  so  averse  to  a  just  consideration 
of  the  claims  of  religion  that  we  ask  but  a  very  little 
subterfuge.  The  folly  of  ^Esop's  Simpleton,  who 
stood  by  the  flowing  brook,  saying,  "If  this  flows  on 
it  must  empty  itself,  and  I  shall  go  over  dry-shod"  is 
obvious.  Why  are  we  so  slow  to  perceive  the  infinitely 
greater  folly  of  one  who  postpones  the  serious  busi- 
ness of  eternity  until  the  world  shall  give  him  respite 
for  it  ?  No  business  can  be  so  important  as  the  recon- 
ciliation of  the  soul  with  an  offended  God;  all  else 
can  wait.  The  world  gives  no  man  leisure  for 
consideration  of  the  great  verities.  Business  never 
lets  up. 

III.  It  is  probable,  also,  that  the  heart  of  Felix  was 
set  upon  the  further  accumulation  of  wealth.  His 
office  was  very  lucrative.  The  farmers  of  his  prov- 
ince were  required  to  pay  tribute  on  every  sheaf  of 
wheat  and  basket  of  olives.  The  taxation  of  those 
days  was  an  elaborate  system  of  blackmail;  not  so  far 
reaching,  perhaps,  as  that  which  prevails  on  Manhat- 
tan Island,  but  still  immensely  profitable  to  this  pro- 
curator. No  doubt  he  hoped  that,  in  a  little  while, 
he  should  have  acquired  sufficient  to  warrant  his 
retirement  ;  when  he  might  perhaps  endow  some 
institution  of  learning  or  benevolence,  and  then  at 
his  leisure  make  his  peace  with  God. 

The  sophism  is  apparent, — yet  multitudes  are  ex- 
cusing themselves  in  this  manner  for  rejecting  Christ. 
To  all  such  he  himself  has  this  to  say :   ' '  The  ground  of 


HOW    FELIX    LOST    HIS   OPPORTUNITY.  67 

a  certain  rich  man  brought  forth  plentifully ;  and  he  thought 
within  himself  saying  :  What  shall  I  do;  because  I  have 
no  room  where  to  bestow  my  fruits  ?  And  he  said,  This 
will  I  do;  I  will  pull  down  my  barns  and  build  greater, 
and  there  will  I  bestow  all  my  fruits  and  my  goods;  and  I 
will  say  to  my  soul,  Soul,  thou  hast  much  goods  laid  up  for 
many  years,  take  thine  ease,  eat,  drink  and  be  merry.  But 
God  said  unto  him,  Thou  fool !  this  night  thy  soul  shall 
be  required  of  thee;  then  whose  shall  those  things  be  which 
thou  hast  provided?"  An  eviction!  An  eviction  with- 
out postponement  or  appeal.  A  just  eviction,  too; 
since  the  tenant  had  misused  his  trust.  "So  is  he 
that  layeth  up  treasure  for  himself  and  is  not  rich  toward 
God." 

IV.  Felix,  if  candid,  would  probably  have  confessed 
that  he  wished  to  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  the  world  a 
little  longer.  He  had  a  magnificent  palace,  with 
luxurious  facilities  for  enjoying  life.  To  his  mind 
religion  was  a  melancholy  affair,  to  be  considered  by 
those  who  were  burdened  with  age  or  alarmed  by  the 
ominous  pangs  of  disease.  He  would  surely  repent 
before  he  died.  His  decision  was  by  no  means  a 
refusal,  merely  a  postponement. 

His  reasoning  was  plausible  but  false.  For  religion 
is  not  melancholy.  At  God's  right  hand  are  pleas- 
ures forevermore.  No  moment  in  human  life  is  so 
ecstatic  as  that  in  which  a  man  realizes  his  deliver- 
ance from  sin:  "  O  happy  day  that  fixed  my  choice 
on  thee,  my  Saviour  and  my  God!"  There  are  sea- 
sons in  the  trysting-place  when  we  sit  at  the  king's 
table  and  feast  on  fat  things  and  wine  upon  the  lees. 
And  beyond  all  words  is  the  sweet  anticipation  of 
eternity:    "  Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither 


68  HOW    FELIX    LOST    HIS   OPPORTUNITY. 

have  entered  into  the  heart  of  man  the  things  which 
God  hath  prepared  for  them  that  love  him."  What 
are  earth's  revels  when  compared  with  these? 

"  For  pleasures  are  like  poppies  spread: 
You  pluck  the  flower,  the  bloom  is  shed." 

It  is  said  that  workmen  who  mine  for  copper  in 
Cornwall  under  the  sea,  can  always  hear  the  roll  of 
the  ocean  above  them ;  but  there  are  times  when  the 
raging  tempest  drives  them  in  terror  from  their  tasks. 
Thus  do  the  ungodly  make  merry  within  sound  of 
the  trumpet  blast  of  judgment.  They  dare  not  stop 
to  think.  O !  to  sell  heaven  for  such  passing  joy  is  a 
fool's  bargain.  It  was  the  wisest  of  men  who  said, 
"of  laughter  It  is  mad,  and  of  mirth  What  doeth 
it?" 

V.  The  hope  of  political  promotion  was  doubtless 
a  further  consideration  to  the  mind  of  Felix.  He 
was  ambitious.  He  had  been  an  efficient  magistrate 
as  magistrates  went  in  those  days.  His  unpopularity 
with  the  Jews  was  greatly  in  his  favor  at  Rome. 
Who  knew  but  he  might  yet  be  Emperor  ?  Stranger 
things  had  happened.  But  a  confession  of  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  would  certainly  ruin  his  prospects;  it  would 
offend  his  influential  friends.  So,  though  his  duty 
seemed  clear,  he  could  not  undertake  to  do  it  just 
now. 

Can  we  afford  to  put  off  the  great  decision  for  such 
considerations?  "What  shall  it  profit  a  man,  if  he 
gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  his  own  soul  ? "  A 
pleasure  yacht  was  sailing  off  the  coast  of  Nova 
Scotia,  when  an  iceberg  was  sighted.  It  was  sug- 
gested that,  since  the  day  was  fair  and  the  sea  quiet, 


HOW    FELIX    LOST    HIS    OPPORTUNITY.  69 

the  passengers  might  disembark  upon  it.  It  was  a 
hazardous  enterprise;  but  they  succeeded  in  climbing 
the  sides  of  the  crystal  mass,  and  remained  there 
until  sunset.  No  sooner  were  they  safe  aboard,  how- 
ever, than  the  iceberg,  as  if  by  magic,  fell  asunder 
and  dissolved.  Awestruck  they  saw  its  domes  and 
pinnacles,  crimsoned  by  the  setting  sun,  disappear 
like  the  fabric  of  a  vision  and  leave  not  a  wrack  be- 
hind. So  will  pass  away  the  glory  of  this  world;  its 
thrones  and  dynasties,  its  honors  and  emoluments, 
all  vanish  with  life's  setting  sun. 

One  thing  only  endures;  to  wit,  Character.  All 
other  ambitions  are  vain  and  frivolous  when  compared 
with  the  living  of  a  holy  and  useful  life.  Scepters 
will  fall  and  royal  purple  will  shine  no  more  than 
beggars'  rags.  He  is  the  wise  man,  therefore,  whose 
ambition  is  to  win  character,  to  wield  influence  and 
to  make  life  tell. 

VI.  But  back  of  all  the  excuses  which  Felix  made 
to  his  own  conscience  was  one  which  he  would 
not  have  avowed:  namely,  his  love  of  sin.  By  his 
side  sat  Drusilla,  a  famous  beauty  and  a  conspicuous 
figure  in  the  gallantries  of  the  time,  though  but 
eighteen  years  old.  She  had  been  the  wife  of  Azizus 
the  king  of  Emesa,  from  whom  the  solicitations  of 
Felix  had  won  her.  He  cringed  and  trembled  now 
beneath  the  unanswerable  logic  of  Paul;  but,  alas!  he 
gazed  at  Drusilla;  and  he  could  not  give  her  up! 

Let  us  be  honest  with  ourselves.  Back  of  all  our 
subterfuges  lies  our  devotion  to  sin.  It  is  this  that 
prompts  the  rejection  of  Christ.  Probe  deep  enough 
and  you  will  surely  find  some  darling  sin.  You  may 
hate  yourself  for  loving  sin ;  and  still  you  love  it.    You 


70  HOW    FELIX    LOST    HIS   OPPORTUNITY. 

fondle  it  like  a  tiger's  cub ;  knowing  full  well  that  pres- 
ently it  will  taste  blood  and  get  the  better  of  you. 
The  sin  that  smiles  most  sweetly  on  us  is  our  master; 
it  lays  an  ever  stronger  hold  upon  us  with  the  pass- 
ing days.  And  for  this  we  are  "  condemned  already." 
We  do  not  wait  for  judgment;  sentence  has  been 
passed  upon  us.  As  Manton  says,  "Whoso  delayeth 
his  repentance,  leaveth  his  soul  in  pawn  to  the  evil 
one,  saying  in  effect,  '  Here,  Satan,  keep  my  soul;  if 
I  fetch  it  not  again  by  such  a  day,  'tis  thine  forever.' ' 

The  dangers  of  delay  under  such  circumstances 
are  manifest,  (i)  Death  may  come  in  an  hour  when 
we  think  not.  (2)  Or,  if  not  this,  then  habit  may 
fasten  itself  upon  us  beyond  all  deliverance;  for  con- 
science is  like  a  blacksmith's  arm,  which  in  his  appren- 
ticeship shrank  from  the  heat  and  quivered  with  pain ; 
but  now  he  bares  it  to  the  shoulder  and  unshrinking 
thrusts  it  into  a  shower  of  sparks.  (3)  Or — more 
fatal  danger  still — the  Spirit  may  cease  to  strive  with 
us.  God  is  patient,  but  he  will  not  be  mocked.  His 
word  is  plain:  "  My  Spirit  shall  not  always  strive 
with  men." 

VII.  There  is  one  reason  for  delay  which  Felix 
could  not  urge ;  to  wit,  that  he  wanted  more  feeling. 
He  "trembled."     The  iron  had  gone  into  his  soul. 

You  say:  "I  do  not  feel  a  vivid  conviction  of  sin. 
I  can  stand  at  Calvary  and  hear  the  dropping  of  blood 
and  shed  no  tear.  I  do  not  turn  pale  at  thought  of 
the  Judgment  day."  Ah  but,  friend,  there  was  a 
time  when  you  did.  There  was  a  time,  years  ago, 
when  a  sermon  like  this  would  have  deeply  moved 
you ;  when  you  lay  awake  at  night  fearful  lest  the 
daybreak  should   find  you   unprepared  at  the  great 


HOW    FELIX    LOST    HIS   OPPORTUNITY.  7 1 

assize.  It  cost  you  a  struggle  to  resist,  in  those  days. 
You  were  almost  persuaded ;  now  you  are  indifferent. 
You  lie  down  to  sleep  with  no  fear  or  scruple.  What 
does  this  mean  ?  Have  you  grieved  God's  Spirit  ? 
Have  you  quenched  the  vital  spark  ?  Not  yet ;  else  you 
would  not  be  listening  to  these  words.  You  are  still 
on  mercy's  ground ;  but,  I  pray  you,  do  not  trifle  now. 

And  indeed  this  is  not  a  matter  of  feeling  but  of 
duty.  When  you  are  reminded  of  an  honest  debt, 
you  do  not  plead  want  of  feeling.  You  know  that 
it  behooves  you  to  meet  your  obligation ;  and  you 
meet  it  like  an  honest  man. 

Are  you  awaiting  a  convenient  season  ?  When 
will  it  be  ?  To-morrow  ?  Nay,  that  were  to  offer  a 
Spanish  plea,  Mariana!  Yet  the  Spaniards  know 
their  own  infirmity,  for  they  have  a  proverb,  ''The 
road  of  By-and-By  leads  to  the  house  of  Never." 
To-morrow,  my  friend,  is  God's;  to-day  is  yours. 
"To-day  if  ye  will  hear  his  voice,  harden  not  your 
hearts."  This  is  the  day  of  salvation. — Or  are  you 
thinking  that  the  convenient  season  will  be  the  hour 
of  death?  Surely  not  that.  God  can  save,  indeed, 
in  articulo  mortis  j  but  the  man  who  reckons  on  this 
takes  fearful  chances.  "A  dying  thief  was  saved,  so 
that  none  might  despair;  but  only  one,  so  that  none 
might  ever  presume." 

Of  all  excuses  this  is  surely  the  basest  and  most 
cowardly.  To  think  of  raking  one's  field  and  flinging 
the  riddlings  at  the  altar!  To  calculate  calmly  on 
saving  out  the  wheat  of  life  and  then  casting  the 
worthless  chaff  before  the  heavenly  throne!  To  burn 
one's  candle  to  the  socket  and  then  at  the  last  to  fling 
the  snuff  into  the  face  of  God! 


72  HOW    FELIX    LOST    HIS    OPPORTUNITY. 

No,  friend,  your  one  convenient  season  is  just  now. 
No  future  hour  has  any  place  in  the  economy  of  sal- 
vation. All  God's  promises  center  in  this  moment, 
for  you.  The  Orientals  tell  of  a  man  who  watched  a 
thousand  years  sleeplessly  before  the  gates  of  Para- 
dise in  hope  that  they  might  open  to  admit  him; 
then  for  a  moment  he  dozed  and  awoke  to  find  that 
the  gates  had  opened  and  shut.  It  is  a  parable  of 
opportunity.  You  stand  just  now  before  the  open 
gates.  I  present  to  you  the  gospel  of  forgiveness 
and  eternal  life.  All  the  glories  of  a  blessed  eternity 
are  yours  for  the  taking,  just  now.  The  pierced 
hands  of  the  Saviour  are  stretched  out;  if  you  will 
but  signify  your  acceptance  of  his  overtures,  he 
stands  ready  to  say,  "Thy  sins  be  forgiven  thee." 

So  far  as  we  know,  the  impression  made  upon  the 
mind  of  Felix  wholly  passed  away.  He  remained 
two  years  in  the  palace  at  Caesarea  and  was  then 
deposed  for  malversation  of  office.  Meanwhile  he  had 
many  opportunities  of  seeing  his  distinguished  pris- 
oner and  hearing  further  of  the  religion  of  Christ; 
but  we  are  left  to  believe  that  he  never  trembled 
again  when  he  heard  him.  So  this  man  passes  from 
view,  a  victim  of  the  Fabian  policy.  His  inaction 
was  his  ruin.  You  stand  where  he  stood  on  that 
momentous  day,  when  Paul  preached  to  him  of 
righteousness,  temperance,  and  judgment  to  come. 
What  will  you  do  ? 

I  have  passed  along  the  street  late  in  the  afternoon 
and  seen  the  people  streaming  from  the  theatre 
doors.  They  had  witnessed  a  tragedy  or  a  melo- 
drama, and  had  probably  been  moved  to  tears.  Out 
of   the   artificial  passion   they  now  returned   to  the 


HOW    FELIX    LOST    HIS   OPPORTUNITY.  73 

world ;  and  conversed  as  cheerfully  as  if  heart-break- 
ing dramas  were  unknown.  Their  impressions  had 
vanished  like  a  dream.  In  like  manner  you  will  be 
going  from  this  presence  in  a  few  moments.  Shall 
it  be  to  the  old  life  of  habitual  sin  and  indifference, 
or  to  the  higher  life  of  salvation  in  Christ  ?  It  is  for 
you  to  say.  Ab  hoc  momento  pendet  csternitas.  The 
issues  of  the  endless  future  may  depend  upon  this 
hour.  Here  is  the  offer  of  life;  will  you  receive  it? 
Here  is  the  line  that  separates  between  sin  and 
pardon;  one  step  will  cross  it.  Like  Felix  you  open 
your  lips  to  speak:  What  is  it  you  say?  "Not  now"? 
or,  "I  will"? 


THE  SECRET  OF  POWER. 

"Tell  me,  I  pray  thee,  wherein  thy  great  strength  lieth." — Judges  16,  6. 

There  are  no  accidents  in  history.  Coincidences 
are  providences.  The  Weaver  sits  at  the  loom  casting 
the  shuttle  to  and  fro,  weaving  in  the  sun  and  shadow, 
and  making  all  things  work  together  in  the  beauty 
of  the  seamless  robe  wherewith  he  purposes  to  clothe 
himself  when  the  last  thread  is  cut.  Time  and 
eternity  are  warp  and  woof.  Causes  and  events  are 
made  to  blend  as  complementary  colors.  There  are 
no  chances;  times  and  men  come  together  by  divine 
predetermination.  The  clock  strikes,  and  the  hero 
answers,  "Here  am  I." 

The  Church  is  enveloped  in  darkness.  God  wants 
a  man;  and  the  monk  of  Wittenberg,  unbinding  his 
rosary,  sets  forth  to  nail  his  Theses  on  the  chapel 
door. — The  tocsin  of  Saint  Bartholomew's  appeals  to 
heaven.  God  wants  a  man ;  and  afar  in  the  Nether- 
lands a  silent  champion  girds  himself  for  the  occa- 
sion.—  Over-populated  Europe  needs  more  room; 
who  shall  find  it  ?  The  Santa  Maria  sets  sail  for  the 
far  Indies  and  the  man  of  destiny  stands  at  her  prow 
gazing  into  the  misty  West.  Thus  we  observe  an 
unvarying  law  of  demand  and  supply;  and  God  pre- 
sides over  all. 

(74) 


THE    SECRET    OF    POWER.  75 

Now  to  the  circumstances  of  our  context.  The 
glory  had  departed  from  Israel.  Fires  were  kindled 
everywhere  on  the  high  places  in  honor  of  Baal.  Up 
from  the  southern  plains  came  the  Philistines  in  their 
rattling  war  chariots,  devastating  the  fields,  plunder- 
ing the  villages;  and  there  was  no  resistance.  The 
banners  of  God's  people  were  in  the  dust.  The  Ark 
of  the  Covenant  was  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  Was 
there  no  eye  to  pity,  no  arm  to  save  ?  Had  God  for- 
gotten to  be  gracious  ? 

At  this  juncture,  in  the  house  of  Manoah  at  Zorah, 
a  child  was  born  in  whom  centered  a  peculiar  interest. 
He  was  the  child  of  prophecy.  His  name,  Samson, 
"the  sunlike,"  is  an  intimation  of  a  joyous  parental 
welcome:  it  suggests  also  the  benediction  of  the 
infinite  Source  of  light  and  power. 

I.  The  Secret  of  Power.  The  mission  of  Samson 
had  been  indicated  in  the  annunciation  of  his  birth; 
to  wit,  "  he  should  begin  to  deliver  Israel  out  of  the 
hand  of  the  Philistines."  This  was  the  reason  of  his 
life.  There  is  no  life  without  a  reason;  though 
many,  failing  to  discover  this,  live  and  die  unreason- 
ably. Our  power  is  measured  by  our  loyalty  to 
God's  purpose  concerning  us. 

The  lad  was  set  apart  at  birth  as  a  Nazirite.  The 
Nazirites  were  persons  who  regarded  themselves  as 
divinely  called  to  special  tasks  and  shaped  their 
habits  of  life  accordingly.  They  were  pledged  to 
self-abnegation,  the  putting  down  of  every  personal 
feeling  and  ambition.  They  abstained  from  the  fruit 
of  the  vine,  not  merely  as  it  came  foaming  from  the 
winepress  or  sparkled  in  the  cup,  but  in  every  form 
"from  the  husk  to  the  kernel."     They  were  bound 


j6  THE    SECRET    OF    POWER. 

to  observe  the  Levitical  law  with  the  utmost  scrupu- 
losity; they  must  refrain  from  kissing  the  lips  of  a 
dead  mother  for  fear  of  ceremonial  defilement,  and 
from  mourning  at  her  grave  lest  they  should  compro- 
mise their  vow.  The  badge  of  this  austere  brother- 
hood was  their  unshorn  hair,  which  hung  over  their 
shoulders  in  seven  braided  locks. 

The  physical  strength  of  Samson  was  a  super- 
natural gift.  His  sturdy  limbs,  broad  shoulders  and 
muscles  like  twisted  cord,  were  a  special  endowment 
for  his  work.  In  his  youth  he  met  a  lion  in  the  way 
and  rent  its  jaws  asunder  as  if  it  had  been  a  kid. 
This  was  but  an  earnest  of  larger  deeds  of  prowess; 
as  when  he  should  meet  the  enemy  at  Ramath-Lehi 
and  single-handed  smite  them  hip  and  thigh;  then 
shout  a  rude  alliterative  battle-song:  "Asses  on  asses! 
Masses  on  masses!  Heaps  upon  heaps!  A  thousand 
men!  "  Or,  as  when  he  should  lift  the  gates  of  Gaza 
from  their  hinges  and  carry  them  off  in  grim  derision 
to  a  neighboring  hilltop,  laughing  back,  "See  how 
bars  and  bolts  restrain  me!  "  All  this  while  his  locks 
were  unshorn,  his  duty  remembered,  his  vow  at  the 
center  of  his  heart. 

But  his  endowment  was  more  than  physical;  as  it 
is  written,  "The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  strove  with  him." 
Here  is  the  true  enduement  of  power;  God  helps 
those  who  are  mindful  of  their  duty.  In  the  home 
at  Zorah  the  growing  lad  was  reminded  by  his  mother 
of  the  angelic  annunciation:  "My  son,  be  faithful  to 
the  task  which  the  Lord  hath  ordained  for  thee. "  He 
sat  upon  his  father's  knee  and  heard  of  Jephthah's 
expeditions  among  the  villages  from  Aroer  to  Min- 
nith.     The  eyes  of  the  youth  flashed  fire,  the  moving 


THE   SECRET    OF    POWER.  77 

of  a  great  purpose  was  within  him  ;  he  longed  for  the 
opportunity  to  show  himself  a  man. 

Let  the  terms  of  his  appointment  be  noted;  he 
was  not  to  deliver  Israel  out  of  the  hand  of  the  Phil- 
istines, only  "to  begin  to  deliver  Israel."  The  man 
was  fitted  by  nature  and  training  for  this  work.  He 
was,  indeed,  in  many  points  a  semi-barbarian.  In 
him  we  observe  a  strange  mingling  of  weakness  and 
strength;  of  questionable  valor  and  still  more  ques- 
tionable virtue.  But  he  was  the  man  for  the  time; 
and  preeminently  the  man  for  his  task.  He  was  to 
enkindle  strife,  like  John  Brown  of  Osawatomie.  He 
was  to  open  the  ranks  of  the  enemy  like  Arnold 
Winkelried,  at  mortal  peril  to  himself.  This  required 
a  willful,  passionate,  capricious  nature.  He  must 
provoke  the  enemy  to  deeds  of  insufferable  violence, 
and  then  with  a  tocsin  cry  of  revenge  awaken  the 
sleeping  courage  of  Israel.  I  see  him  on  the  way 
down  to  Eshtaol,  trespassing  on  the  fields,  embroil- 
ing the  people  in  strife,  sowing  dragon's  teeth  which 
were  to  germinate  and  develop  better  men  than  he. 

A  strong  man  is  ever  a  man  with  a  mission  and 
loyal  to  it.  Saul  of  Tarsus  was  an  inquisitor  up  to 
the  hour  when  the  great  light  shone  upon  him.  Then, 
realizing  that  his  occupation  was  gone,  as  one  who 
could  not  live  without  a  definite  work,  he  straightway 
required  of  his  new  Master,  "What  wilt  thou  have 
me  to  do  ?  "  All  servants  of  Christ  are  appointed  to 
special  tasks.  Alas  for  the  Christian  who  gives  to  the 
sordid  world  the  energies  which  should  be  conse- 
crated to  the  Kingdom  of  God  !  He  lives  like  an 
eagle  tethered  to  its  stake;  its  wings  drooping,  its 
eyes  blinking  at  the  sun.     O  Christian,  find  thy  work 


78  THE   SECRET    OF    POWER. 

and  address  thyself  to  it !  Rend  thy  chain  and  let 
the  divineness  within  thee  mount  aloft  to  kindle  its 
eyes  at  the  full  midday  beam  ! 

II.  The  Loss  of  Power.  The  fall  of  a  mighty  soul 
into  moral  debility  is  usually  through  a  process  of 
gradual  decline.  The  sun  is  eclipsed  not  by  the  in- 
stant veiling  of  its  brightness;  an  arc  of  twilight 
creeps  over  its  verge  and,  encroaching  more  and  more, 
brings  on  at  last  a  very  blackness  of  darkness.  So  is 
the  enfeeblement  of  a  strong  man. 

It  began  in  Samson's  case  with  certain  journeys 
down  to  Timnath.  He  saw  there  a  woman  of  the 
daughters  of  the  Philistines  and  was  captured  by  her 
fair  face.  His  temptation  came  in  at  Eye-gate.  In 
vain  did  his  parents  remonstate,  "Is  there  never  a 
woman  among  the  daughters  of  thy  brethren  ?  "  It 
was  enough  for  Samson  that  he  fancied  her.  "Get 
her  for  me,"  he  cried;  "she  pleaseth  me  well."  As 
time  passed,  the  serious  business  of  life  was  forgotten. 
The  beguilements  of  the  fair  Philistine  were  woven 
about  him  like  the  bands  of  Gulliver  in  Lilliput.  It 
is  always  perilous  to  trifle  with  sin.  We  find  in  the 
district  messenger-boy  an  inexhaustible  source  of 
pleasantry.  He  is  sent  upon  an  errand  posthaste. 
As  he  turns  the  corner  the  bell  of  a  fire-engine  arrests 
his  steps.  A  little  further  on,  a  group  of  lads  are 
tossing  jack-stones;  and  our  youthful  ambassador, 
agape  with  interest,  hands  in  pockets,  lingers  to  look 
on.  And  meanwhile  his  message  waits.  Who  are 
we  however  that  we  should  make  merry  at  the  lad's 
expense  ?  Are  we  not  also  sent  on  an  ambassage,  and 
a  vastly  more  important  one  ?  Has  not  the  word 
been  clearly  spoken,  "Go  ye;  declare  the  Evangel!" 


THE    SECRET    OF    POWER.  79 

Does  not  the  King's  business  require  haste  ?  Yet  we 
stand  in  Vanity  Fair,  charmed  with  sweet  music  and 
the  glint  of  tinkling  feet;  or,  mayhap,  we  mingle 
with  the  self-seeking  multitude  and  lose  ourselves 
in  sordid  cares.  And  our  message,  meanwhile  ? 
Behold,  the  world  lieth  in  darkness  and  the  shadow 
of  death,  still  waiting  for  it. 

The  story  of  Samson's  fall  is  full  of  warning.  He 
laid  his  head  in  the  lap  of  the  temptress  and  rose  up 
shorn  of  his  manly  strength.  Not  all  at  once,  how- 
ever. Observe  how  he  played  with  the  mystic  sym- 
bol of  his  calling.  ' '  Tell  me, "  said  Delilah, ' '  wherein 
thy  great  strength  lieth,  and  wherewith  thou  might- 
est  be  bound  to  afflict  thee." 

And  Samson  said,  "If  they  bind  me  with  seven 
green  withes,  then  shall  I  be  weak  as  another 
man." 

He  slept  and  was  bound  with  the  green  withes ;  and 
she  cried,  "The  Philistines  be  upon  thee!"  Then 
he  awoke  and  brake  the  withes  as  tow  that  is  scorched 
in  the  fire. 

And  the  temptress  said, ' '  Behold,  thou  hast  mocked 
me.  Tell  me,  I  pray  thee,  wherewith  thou  mightest 
be  bound." 

"If  I  be  bound  with  new  ropes  that  never  were 
used,  then  shall  I  be  weak  and  be  as  another  man." 

He  slept  again  and  was  bound  with  new  ropes. 
"The  Philistines  be  upon  thee!  "  she  cried.  And  he 
brake  the  ropes  like  a  thread  from  his  arms. 

And  she  said,  more  persuasively  still,  "Thou  hast 
mocked  and  deceived  me:  tell  me  now  wherewith 
thou  mightest  be  bound." 

He  approached  perilously  near  his  great  secret  as 


80  THE    SECRET    OF    POWER. 

he  answered,  "  If  thou  weavest  my  seven  braids  with 
the  web." 

And  again  he  slept;  and  his  locks  were  woven  in 
the  loom.  Then  she  cried,  "  The  Philistines  be  upon 
thee!"  and  he  awoke  and,  laughing,  walked  away 
with  the  beam  and  the  web. 

And  she  poutingly  urged:  "  How  canst  thou  say, 
I  love  thee  ?  Thy  heart  is  not  with  me.  Thou  hast 
mocked  me  thrice  and  hast  not  told  me  wherein  thy 
great  strength  lieth."  Thus  she  pressed  him  daily 
with  her  words  until  his  soul  was  grievously  vexed. 

Then  he  told  her  all:  "If  I  be  shaven,  my  strength 
will  go  from  me."  Once  more  he  slept  and  the  lords 
of  the  Philistines  were  in  waiting.  His  locks  were 
shorn  and  his  strength  went  from  him.  Again  the 
cry,  "  The  Philistines  be  upon  thee!  " 

And  he  awoke  and  said,  "  I  will  go  out  as  at  other 
times  and  shake  myself."  And  he  wist  not  that  the 
Lord  was  departed  from  him  I 

He  wist  not.  Aye,  there  is  the  sorrow  of  it.  The 
most  insidious  diseases  are  those  which  give  no  pain. 
Their  victims  in  the  midst  of  business  or  pleasure 
swoon  and  are  gone.  So  does  a  sin  indulged  creep, 
like  an  ambushed  assassin,  nearer  and  nearer  to  the 
center  of  life.  Habit  is  like  an  adder  warmed  in  the 
bosom:  it  need  smite  but  once.  O  that  God  would 
enable  some  of  us  to  look  backward  and  perceive  our 
unconscious  loss  of  influence.  Has  the  fine  edge  of 
your  moral  sense  worn  off  ?  Is  your  conscience, 
once  as  sensitive  as  the  palm  of  an  infant's  hand,  now 
seared  as  with  a  hot  iron  ?  These  are  ominous  signs 
of  spiritual  declension.  We  started  out  at  the  begin- 
ning of  our  Christian  life  with  a  determination  to  be 


THE   SECRET    OF   POWER.  8 1 

strong.  We  coquetted  with  sin  and,  behold,  we  are 
weak  like  other  men. 

III.  The  Recovery  of  Power.  Blessed  be  God,  all  is 
not  lost!  The  man  who  has  forgotten  his  vow,  for- 
sworn his  duty,  and  denied  his  Lord,  shall  yet  have 
an  opportunity  of  grace.  "  Return  unto  me,  saith 
the  Lord,  and  I  will  have  mercy  upon  you." 

In  the  prison  house  of  Gaza  sits  the  champion  of 
Israel;  a  captive,  grinding  like  a  woman  at  the  mill. 
His  eyes  are  out.  He  sits  in  open  view:  that  the 
people  may  make  sport  of  him.  The  fair  women  of 
Philistia  pass  by  and  deride  him ;  but  he  sees  them 
not.  Temptation  enters  no  more  at  Eye-gate.  In 
his  enforced  solitude  he  remembers.  He  recalls  the 
prophecy  of  his  birth:  "He  shall  begin  to  deliver 
Israel  out  of  the  hand  of  the  Philistines."  He  be- 
moans his  wasted  strength,  his  squandered  privilege. 
He  is  alone  in  the  surging  crowd;  alone  with  God. 
His  consecration  vow  is  before  his  blind  eyes  in 
letters  of  fire.  O  that  he  might  prove  himself  a 
Nazirite  again  before  he  dies!  His  enemies  have  not 
perceived  that  his  locks  are  growing  again.  They 
grow  as  he  renews  his  vow.  His  affliction  is  not  in 
vain;  he  remembers  the  riddle  he  once  gave  to  his 
enemies;  "  Out  of  the  eater  is  come  forth  meat,  and 
out  of  the  strong  is  come  forth  sweetness."  Thus  in 
the  secret  place  of  his  repentant  heart  he  renews  his 
fealty  to  God. 

The  closing  scene  is  pathetic  beyond  words.  The 
festival  of  Dagon  is  at  hand.  The  Philistines  are 
gathering  to  offer  a  great  sacrifice  to  their  god.  The 
blind  giant  of  Israel  is  brought  to  the  temple  where 
the  assembling     multitude   may  behold   him.      He 


82  THE    SECRET    OF    POWER. 

bears  their  mockery  in  silence;  and  the  Spirit  of  God 
moves  within  him.  His  heart  is  no  longer  with  the 
past;  in  that  fierce  hour  he  renews  his  consecration. 
He  will  yet,  with  God's  help,  "begin  to  deliver  Israel 
out  of  the  hand  of  the  Philistines."  He  hears 
the  footfall  and  murmur  of  thousands  gathering  in 
the  temple.  The  galleries  are  full.  His  hour  of 
triumph  has  come.  He  stretches  forth  his  hands, 
feeling  for  the  great  pillars.  The  muscles  of  his  iron 
frame  are  tense  and  swollen.  He  lifts  his  scarred 
face  with  its  eyeless  sockets  toward  heaven.  His 
lips  move;  he  is  making  his  last  prayer,  "O  God, 
avenge  me!"  There  is  a  trembling  of  the  pillars,  a 
momentary  hush,  then  cries  of  the  fear-stricken  and 
the  dying,  as  with  a  crash  the  temple  falls,  burying 
in  its  ruins  the  blind  captive  and  his  persecutors. 
And  from  the  silence  of  that  ruin  forevermore  may 
be  heard  a  voice,  "Return  from  thy  backslidings,  O 
Israel,  and  I  will  restore  thee!  Return  and  I  will 
return  unto  thee! " 

In  the  eleventh  of  Hebrews,  the  inspired  roll-call 
of  heroes,  it  is  written  that  Samson  was  "by  faith 
made  strong  out  of  weakness."  Faith  is  the  vital 
bond  of  our  union  with  God !  It  holds  us  fast  to  duty ; 
it  bring  us  back  from  wandering,  makes  all  things 
possible  to  us.  We  are  never  strong  until  we  are 
weak,  because  then  the  power  of  God  rests  upon 
us. 

Here  is  our  lesson:  No  man  is  without  a  "calling." 
Each  has  his  "vocation  "  in  the  kingdom  of  Christ. 
And  the  secret  of  a  successful  life  is  in  the  concen- 
tration of  energy  on  one's  mission.  There  is  a  world 
of  wisdom  in  the  Cottar's  words: 


THE   SECRET    OF    POWER.  83 

"An'  O  be  sure  to  fear  the  Lord  alway, 

An'  mind  your  duty  duly  morn  an'  night! 
Lest  in  temptation's  path  ye  gang  astray, 
Implore  his  counsel  an'  assisting  might. 
They  never  seek  in  vain  who  seek  the  Lord  aright." 

It  has  been  said  that  while  a  tallow  candle  cannot 
be  thrown  through  the  wall  of  a  tent,  it  can  be  shot 
through  an  oaken  plank.  The  reason  is  easy  to  see. 
Here  is  a  concentration  of  power.  The  man  who 
lives  according  to  the  divine  purpose  makes  a  sure 
success  of  life.  No  arrow  is  wasted  that  speeds 
toward  the  mark. 

A  young  Englishman,  fifty  years  ago  or  there- 
abouts, was  moved  to  carry  the  gospel  to  Terra  del 
Fuego.  The  divine  call  was  clear.  This  was  his 
appointed  task;  he  must  accomplish  it.  He  spent 
his  limited  fortune  in  fitting  out  an  expedition;  only 
to  be  repulsed  by  the  natives  and  driven  back  a  penni- 
less, unsuccessful  but  still  resolute  man.  He  urged 
his  plea  upon  the  churches  and  sailed  again.  He  was 
now  permitted  to  land;  he  pitched  his  tent  among 
the  people  and  prepared  for  work.  His  companions 
died  and  he  was  driven  again  by  the  superstitious 
natives  to  the  shelter  of  his  boat.  At  length  in  the 
shadow  of  a  torn  sail  he  lay  dying.  Not  a  soul  had 
been  given  for  his  hire.  Was  his  life  wasted,  then  ? 
In  his  last  moments  he  wrote  these  words,  to  be  found 
long  afterwards:  "  My  little  boat  is  a  very  Bethel  to 
my  soul.  Asleep  or  awake,  I  am  happier  than  tongue 
can  tell.  I  am  starving,  yet  I  neither  hunger  nor 
thirst.  I  feed  on  hidden  manna  and  drink  at  the 
King's  well.  I  am  not  disappointed;  fori  remember 
this :   '  One  soweth  and  another  reapeth. '  "  A  failure  ? 


84  THE   SECRET    OF   POWER. 

A  wasted  life  ?  Nay ;  let  the  thousands  of  converts, 
who  go  each  year,  in  that  far  away  country,  to  water 
with  their  tears  the  grave  of  Allen  Gardiner  pass 
their  verdict  upon  it.  No  life  is  futile  whose  strength 
is  spent  in  pursuance  of  a  divine  call. 

Let  the  past  suffice  us  for  the  squandering  of  power. 
God  calls  us  to  return  from  the  dissipations  of  Vanity 
Fair  to  our  appointed  work.  Let  us  hear  and  heed 
forevermore  this  "high  calling"  of  God.  Our  place 
is  among  the  athletes  who  stand  at  the  crimson  line. 
Let  us  so  run  that  we  may  obtain  the  crown.  "  This 
one  thing  I  do;  forgetting  those  things  which  are 
behind,  and  reaching  forth  unto  those  things  which 
are  before,  I  press  toward  the  mark  for  the  prize  of 
the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus."  This  one 
thing  I  do!     This  one  thing  I  do! 


AMERICA   FOR  CHRIST. 

"  If  ye  shall  diligently  keep  all  these  commandments  which  I  command  you, 
to  do  them,  to  love  the  Lord  your  God,  to  walk  in  all  his  ways,  and  to  cleave 
unto  him  ;  then  will  the  Lord  drive  out  all  these  nations  from  before  you,  and 
ye  shall  possess  greater  nations  and  mightier  than  yourselves.  Every  place 
whereon  the  soles  of  your  feet  shall  tread  shall  be  yours :  from  the  wilderness 
and  Lebanon,  from  the  river  Euphrates  even  unto  the  uttermost  sea  shall  your 
coast  be."— Deut.  n,  22-25. 

In  the  Dark  Ages  of  ancient  history,  when  truth 
and  righteousness  seemed  in  danger  of  perishing  from 
the  earth,  it  pleased  God  to  select  a  people  who 
should  keep  the  oracles  and  hand  down  the  Messianic 
secret  to  coming  times.  In  furtherance  of  his  plan  a 
little  strip  of  territory  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the 
Mediterranean  was  set  apart  for  the  habitation  of 
this  people.  It  was  singularly  well  adapted  to  this 
purpose,  being  separated  by  almost  impassable  bar- 
riers from  the  surrounding  country.  It  was  bounded 
on  the  south  by  the  Arabian  desert,  on  the  north  by 
the  Lebanon  range,  on  the  west  by  the  Great  Sea  and 
on  the  east  by  the  trans-Jordanic  cliffs.  Thus  the 
Israelites  were  set  apart  as  a  hermit  nation.  At  the 
same  time  they  were  in  closest  touch  with  the  world's 
enterprise.  The  caravan  routes  which  connected  the 
three  great  centers  of  civilization,  to  wit,  Egypt  on 
the  south,  Assyria  on  the  east  and  Greece  on  the 
northwest,  crossed  each  other  just  here.      So  the  land 

(85) 


86  AMERICA    FOR   CHRIST. 

of  Israel,  while  protected  by  its  seclusion  from  the 
contaminating  influences  of  paganism,  was  peculiarly 
fitted  to  be  the  depositary  and  radiating  center  of  the 
religion  of  the  true  God. 

In  the  Dark  Ages  of  more  recent  history,  when  the 
world  was  threatened  with  a  universal  prevalence  of 
wrong  and  error,  it  pleased  God  to  set  apart  for  the 
remnant  of  his  oppressed  people  a  barbaric  region  in 
the  distant  West.  At  this  point  we  observe  a  striking 
coincidence.  Our  country  is  not  unlike  Palestine, 
in  the  seclusion  afforded  by  its  impassable  sea  walls; 
while  it  lies  precisely  at  the  focal  point  of  universal 
commerce.  Is  this  an  indication  that  God  would 
have  us  foster  our  power  for  the  ultimate  benefit  of 
the  race  ?  A  French  artist  conceived  the  thought  of 
a  colossal  image  of  "  Liberty  Enlightening  the 
World."  He  accomplished  his  task,  and  the  ques- 
tion arose,  Where  shall  the  statue  be  placed  ?  By 
the  banks  of  the  Seine  ?  In  sight  of  the  July  Col- 
umn, which  commemorates  the  horrors  of  the  Bas- 
tile  ?  In  sight  of  the  Garden  of  the  Tuileries  and 
the  Palace  of  the  Louvre,  where  the  Commune  vented 
its  wrath  ?  In  sight  of  the  Arc  de  Triomphe  and  the 
golden  dome  of  the  Invalides,  under  which  rest  the 
ashes  of  Napoleon  the  Scourge  ?  Nay,  not  there  ! 
The  place  chosen  is  at  the  portals  of  the  western  con- 
tinent. There  stands  the  colossal  figure,  uplifting  a 
lighted  torch,  more  eloquent  of  great  achievement 
than  even  its  illustrious  maker  imagined.  It  is  not 
Liberty  but  the  Evangel  enlightening  the  nations  of 
the  Earth. 

The  Lord  Jesus  wants  our  country;  we  read  this  in  the 
roma?itic  story  of  its  discovery  and  settlement.     It  is  an 


AMERICA    FOR   CHRIST.  87 

open  question  who  discovered  America.  Was  it  the 
Phoenicians,  who,  as  Strabo  says,  effected  a  land- 
ing about  400  B.C.  on  the  mysterious  Island  of 
Atlantis  in  the  Western  Sea  ?  In  any  case,  they 
made  no  settlement,  better  things  being  in  store  for 
our  continent  than  that  the  fires  of  Baal  and  Astarte, 
the  furies  of  ancient  Israel,  should  be  kindled  on  its 
altars.  Shall  we  then  accord  the  honors  of  discovery 
to  Eric  the  Red  who,  about  1000  a.d.,  landed  on  our 
northern  coasts?  He  also  was  unable  to  effect  a 
settlement.  His  hardy  Norsemen  were  driven  away, 
the  very  elements  conspiring  against  the  gods  of 
Walhalla,  and  the  hammer  of  Thor.  Was  Columbus 
then  the  real  discoverer  of  America?  On  October  7, 
1492,  the  Santa  Maria  was  making  straight  for  the 
coasts  of  Florida,  when  a  flock  of  paroquets,  heading 
to  the  southwest,  crossed  her  bows.  The  course  of 
the  vessel  was  changed  accordingly  and  her  crew 
disembarked  on  the  Bahamas.  So,  God  be  praised ! 
the  civilization  of  Spain  based  on  the  religion  of  Rome 
was  averted.  The  belt  of  power  in  the  Western  hemi- 
sphere was  reserved  for  a  better  race  and  purer  religion. 
In  1609  a  truce  was  signed  between  Holland  and 
Spain;  and  the  liberated  energies  of  the  Dutch  Prot- 
estants sought  a  new  outlet.  The  Half  Moon 
sailed, — Hendrik  Hudson,  skipper, — and  a  trading 
and  trapping  post  was  established  on  Manhattan 
Island.  A  little  later  the  Pilgrims, — who  being  ex- 
iled from  their  native  country  had  made  a  protracted 
sojourn  in  Holland,  coming  into  close  contact  with 
her  spirit  of  ecclesiastical  and  civil  freedom, — set 
forth  in  the  Mayflower  and  in  due  time  landed  at 
Plymouth.      These    were    the    people,    the    Chosen 


88  AMERICA    FOR   CHRIST. 

People,    for  whom   God  had   reserved    the   Western 
World  and  whom  he  had  prepared  to  occupy  it. 

What  sought  they  thus  afar? 

Bright  jewels  of  the  mine, 
The  wealth  of  seas,  the  spoils  of  war? 

They  sought  a  faith's  pure  shrine. 
Aye,  call  it  holy  ground, 

The  ground  whereon  they  trod  ; 
They  left  unstained  what  there  they  found, 

Freedom  to  worship  God  ! 

The  Lord  Jesus  wants  our  country  for  himself;  we  read 
it  in  the  strange  record  of  our  territorial  expansion.  The 
Thirteen  Colonies,  as  originally  banded  together  for 
mutual  protection  and  defense  under  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  represented  about  eight  hundred 
thousand  square  miles  of  territory;  but  they  had 
no  outlook  toward  the  West,  no  southern  seaboard 
and  no  commercial  right  in  the  Mississippi,  the  great 
waterway  of  the  continent. 

The  first  step  toward  an  important  enlargement  was 
in  the  Louisiana  Purchase,  which  was  effected  by 
Jefferson  in  1803.  This  gave  us  the  Mississippi  River 
and  doubled  the  national  area.  The  purchase  could 
not  have  been  made  but  for  the  financial  straits  of 
Napoleon.  In  closing  the  bargain  he  said,  "  I  have 
strengthened  the  power  of  a  nation  which,  as  a  mari- 
time rival,  shall  yet  humble  the  pride  of  older  nations 
beyond  the  sea."  In  1845  Texas  was  annexed.  This 
was  done  under  the  leadership  of  Calhoun  and  for 
the  extension  of  slavery.  It  is  not  an  easy  matter  to 
defend  it. 

In  1 846  the  Northwestern  Territory,  previously  held 
by  England  and  America  jointly,   passed   into   our 


AMERICA    FOR    CHRIST.  S9 

hands.  The  story  of  the  Oregon  Trail,  the  encroach- 
ments of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  the  controversy 
of  the  frontiersmen  with  the  watchword,  "Fifty-four- 
forty  or  fight  !  "  are  matters  of  common  fame.  In 
all  our  history  there  is  no  more  interesting  episode 
than  the  ride  of  the  missionary,  Marcus  Whitman, 
from  Walla  Walla  to  Santa  Fe,  three  months  over 
the  mountains,  through  falling  snow  and  wintry 
blasts,  and  thence  to  Washington;  where  President 
Tyler  was  persuaded  to  negotiate  a  compromise  with 
the  British  Government,  by  which  our  Northwestern 
boundary  was  fixed  at  the  forty-ninth  parallel. 

In  1848,  largely  through  the  enterprise  of  Fremont, 
"the  Pathfinder,"  we  secured  our  possessions  on  the 
Pacific  Coast.  The  less  said  about  this  and  other 
results  of  the  Mexican  War  the  better  for  our  national 
honor;  since  these  acquisitions  were  made  according 
to  the  "good  old  plan,  that  he  may  take  who  has 
the  power,  and  he  may  keep  who  can. " 

In  1867  Alaska  was  purchased  from  Russia;  adding 
six  hundred  thousand  square  miles.  At  the  time,  the 
wisdom  of  this  purchase  was  seriously  questioned ; 
but  the  vast  development  of  Alaskan  treasure  has 
abundantly  vindicated  it. 

We  thus  find  ourselves  in  possession  of  a  territory 
of  three  and  one-half  millions  of  square  miles;  and 
are  just  now  facing  the  question  of  a  further  addi- 
tion. We  do  not  want  Cuba,  Porto  Rico  or  the  Philip- 
pines; but  the  question  is,  Can  we  avoid  taking  them 
under  our  care  ?  We  are  in  a  dilemma.  On  the  one 
hand  we  dare  not  restore  them  to  the  tender  mercies 
of  Spain ;  on  the  other  we  cannot  leave  them  as  a 
bone  of  contention  among  the  great  powers  of  Europe. 


90  AMERICA    FOR   CHRIST. 

We  are  in  the  position  of  a  Christian  man  whom  I 
knew.  He  had  a  family  and  responsibilities  to  the 
full  measure  of  his  resources.  One  day  a  friendless 
waif  appeared  at  his  door  asking  to  be  taken  in. 
There  was  the  problem  of  the  cruse  and  the  barrel ; 
but  the  waif  stood  hollow-cheeked  and  shivering  at 
the  threshold ;  there  was  nothing  to  be  done  but  to 
adopt  him.  God  save  us,  as  a  nation,  from  the  pride 
of  conquest;  but  may  he  make  us  willing  to  assume 
any  responsibility  whatsoever  in  the  interest  of  broad 
civilization  and  humanity,  which  he  may  impose 
upon  us. 

The  Lord  Jesus  wants  our  country  ;  it  looks  like  manifest 
destiny ;  we  read  it  in  the  startling  development  of  our 
national  power.  This  power  centers  in  the  Christian 
Church  as  really  as  the  Tabernacle  stood  in  the  midst 
of  the  Jewish  camp. 

It  is  affirmed  on  statistical  authority  that  there  are 
twenty-seven  millions  of  religious  people  in  our 
country!  What  a  suggestion  of  power  and  responsi- 
bility! For  "power  to  the  last  atom  is  responsi- 
bility." 

One  of  the  surprises  of  our  recent  history  is  the 
discovery  that  we  are  the  richest  nation  on  earth. 
Our  wealth  is  estimated  at  not  less  than  fifty  thousand 
millions.  Ponder  that  for  a  moment  in  view  of  the 
responsibilities  which  it  involves.  Who  hold  this 
treasure  ?  Much  the  larger  part  of  it  is  in  the  hands 
of  the  twenty-seven  millions  of  religious  people. 
They  represent  the  thrifty,  cultured  and  prosperous 
class.  And  what  are  they  doing  with  this  treasure  ? 
Has  the  Church  increased  her  influence  commensu- 
rately  with  her  wealth  ?     Nobody  thinks  so. 


AMERICA    FOR   CHRIST.  9 1 

An  eminent  cardinal  was  once  walking  arm  in  arm 
with  a  barefoot  friar:  he  looked  on  his  ruby  ring,  his 
purple  robe,  his  splendid  mansion^  the  gilded  dome 
of  his  cathedral,  and  proudly  said,  "The  time  has 
passed,  brother,  when  the  Church  must  say  as  Peter 
and  John  did,  'Silver  and  gold  have  I  none.'" 
"Aye,"  replied  his  barefoot  comrade,  "and  mayhap, 
my  lord  cardinal,  the  time  has  passed  when  she  can 
say  to  paralytics,  as  Peter  and  John  did,  '  In  the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth,  rise  up  and 
walk!'" 

We  have  recently  discovered,  also,  to  our  amaze- 
ment, that  we  are  among  the  great  military  nations. 
We  have,  indeed,  no  standing  army  or  fleet  worth 
mentioning;  but  we  have  what  is  better,  an  indefinite 
reserve.  Pompey  said,  "I  can  stamp  my  foot  and 
summon  an  army."  We  have  proven  that  a  word 
from  Washington  can  call  an  irresistible  host  from 
the  farm  and  workshop  and  marshal  them  on  the 
high  places  of  the  field.  We  have  demonstrated  that 
by  the  subsidizing  of  our  merchant,  marine  and  mere 
pleasure  craft  we  can  improvise  a  fleet  stronger  than 
the  Spanish  Armada.  But,  better  than  all,  we  have 
shown  the  world  that  war  can  be  waged  in  the 
interest  of  peace.  The  dominating  influence  in  our 
recent  conflict  was  the  gospel  of  the  humanities. 
Over  our  armies  and  fleets  waved  the  banner  of 
the  Prince  of  Peace. 

Yet  another  of  our  surprises  is  this :  our  forebodings 
with  reference  to  immigration  have  been  vain.  It  has 
been  supposed  that  the  inpouring  of  heterogeneous 
peoples  might  involve  us  in  anarchy  or  revolution. 
We  were  afraid  our  hopper  was  receiving  more  than 


92  AMERICA    FOR   CHRIST. 

the  mill  could  grind  into  a  wholesome  grist.  In  fact, 
however,  there  is  no  more  homogeneous  nation  than 
our  own.  And  we  have  no  better  citizens  than  those 
who  have  come  to  us  from  among  the  oppressed  regions 
of  the  earth.  This  is  a  fact  for  God's  people  to  con- 
template. It  is  as  when  the  people  came  to  Pentecost; 
"  Parthians,  Medes  and  Elamites  and  dwellers  in 
Mesopotamia,  strangers  of  Rome,  Jews  and  prose- 
lytes, Cretes  and  Arabians."  What  shall  be  done  with 
them  ?  Ours  is  indeed  the  pentecostal  nation.  Let 
us  lift  the  prayer  that  God's  Spirit  may  rest  upon 
these  multitudes  in  cloven  tongues  as  of  fire,  that 
they  may  be  filled  with  the  influence  of  the  gospel  of 
Christ;  that  so,  as  the  Passover  pilgrims  of  old  car- 
ried back  the  Evangel  to  their  homes,  these  also  may 
be  radiating  influences  of  the  gospel  of  Christ. 

The  Lord  Jesus  wants  our  country  for  himself j  in  the  light 
of  that  statement  we  may  read  our  denominational  responsibil- 
ity. The  Reformed  Church  is  the  oldest  evangelical 
body  in  America,  having  been  organized  on  Manhattan 
Island  not  earlier  than  1614,  and  not  later  than  1628 
when  Domine  Michaelius  was  installed  as  minister  of 
Saint  Nicholas  Church.  The  fact  that  we  are  one  of 
the  smaller  denominations  is  due  measurably  to  our 
own  default,  and  particularly  to  the  fact  that  the 
Dutch  people  were  in  possession  of  this  island  only 
for  a  period  of  about  fifty  years,  being  crowded  aside 
by  the  English  occupation  in  1664,  since  when  they 
have  not  been  a  segregated  factor  in  our  national 
life. 

We  are  proud  of  our  honorable  history,  but  danger 
lies  that  way.  We  cannot  turn  the  wheels  with  the 
waters  gone  by.     Forgetting  the  past,  let  us  reach 


AMERICA    FOR   CHRIST.  93 

out  toward  the  things  which  are  before.  We  are  told 
the  Spaniards  have  carried  away  the  bones  of  Colum- 
bus from  Havana.  They  are  welcome  to  them.  A 
living  dog  is  better  than  a  dead  lion.  Let  the  Dons 
dwell  among  the  tombs.  God  give  us  the  living 
genius  of  enterprise!  Let  us  cherish  all  the  honor- 
able memories,  but  remember  that  honor  lies  in 
consecration  to  present  duty  and  future  useful- 
ness. 

Our  church  is  peculiarly  adapted  to  present  needs 
by  reason  of  its  historic  loyalty  to  truth.  It  has 
stood  like  a  rock  amid  the  tempestuous  swirl  of  con- 
troversy. It  has  been  loyal  to  the  faith  once  delivered 
to  the  saints,  loyal  to  the  historic  landmarks  of  doc- 
trine, loyal  to  the  revealed  Word.  It  is  written  that 
our  Lord,  having  compassion  on  the  hungry  multi- 
tudes, asked  his  disciples,  "How  many  loaves  have 
ye  ?"  They  answered,  "There  is  a  lad  here  who  has 
five  in  a  basket."  These  he  took  and,  breaking  them, 
said  to  his  disciples,  "  Give  ye  them  to  eat."  This  is 
not  to  suggest  that  other  denominations  have  not  been 
as  loyal  and  conservative  as  our  own.  But  the  time 
has  come  for  every  lad  with  a  basket  to  add  his  con- 
tribution for  the  feeding  of  the  multitudes  with  living 
bread. 

O  for  the  baptism  of  fire  on  our  venerable  church! 
Conservatism  is  an  honor;  but  inertia  is  a  shame. 
The  Moravians  tell  of  a  missionary  ship  that  sailed 
for  Greenland  a  hundred  years  ago  and  was  never 
heard  of.  She  was  caught  somewhere  among  the 
ice-floes  and  failed  to  reach  her  destination.  God 
save  us  from  the  guilt  of  arrested  power;  from  fall- 
ing short  of  the  work  ordained  for  us! 


94  AMERICA    FOR    CHRIST. 

He  wants  men;  men  and  women  dedicated  to  his 
work.  "Say  not,  It  is  yet  four  months  and  then 
cometh  the  harvest.  Lift  up  your  eyes  and  see:  the 
fields  are  already  white.  Pray  ye  the  Lord  of  the 
harvest  that  he  would  send  forth  laborers  into  his 
harvest."  The  flaming  cross  is  on  the  hills.  Where 
are  the  consecrated  youth  who  shall  respond  ?  Where 
are  the  mothers,  Hannahs  in  Israel,  who  shall  bring 
their  children  to  the  sanctuary  and  consecrate  them 
to  the  Lord  ? 

He  wants  money  also.  Yours?  No,  not.  a  penny 
of  it!  If  you  have  money  that  you  can  call  your  own, 
keep  it.  If,  however,  you  have  any  of  the  Lord's 
money  entrusted  to  your  stewardship,  then  give  him 
his  own.  Now  is  the  time  for  Christian  men  and 
women  to  recognize  their  stewardship.  Bis  dat  qui 
cito  dat.  The  curse  of  our  Christian  civilization  is 
unconsecrated  wealth  in  Christian  hands.  The 
Scriptural  word  "  covetousness  "  is  pleonexia,  which 
might  be  liberally  rendered,  "I  will  have  more!" 
The  sorrow  of  the  situation  is  that  the  Church  con- 
trols our  national  wealth  and  grips  it  as  with  a 
clenched  fist. 

Let  no  follower  of  Christ  suppose  that  he  discharges 
his  responsibility  by  promising  to  remember  the 
missionary  boards  in  his  will.  A  man  was  recently 
caught  in  one  of  our  leading  homes  in  the  very  act  of 
burglary.  With  his  arms  full  of  silver  and  jewels  he 
started  to  run,  but  was  obliged  to  drop  everything  in 
order  to  escape.  So  does  many  a  wealthy  man  who 
professes  to  be  a  follower  of  Christ ;  he  keeps  his  treas- 
ure as  his  own,  until  the  grim  specter  of  Death  pursues 
him;  then  perforce  he  drops  the  plunder:    and  men 


AMERICA    FOR   CHRIST.  95 

gather  around  it,  saying,  "  Let  us  now  read  his  Last 
Will  and  Testament." 

But  what  the  Lord  wants  above  all  is  personal  con- 
secration. Such  appeals  as  this  would  be  quite  need- 
less, if  we  could  but  realize  that  we  are  not  our  own 
but  are  bought  with  a  price,  even  the  precious  blood 
of  Jesus  as  of  a  lamb  without  blemish  and  without 
spot.  But,  alas!  we  withhold  ourselves  so  that  he 
cannot  reach  or  use  us.  A  traveler  in  the  East 
relates  that,  being  suspicious  of  his  Bedouin  guards, 
he  bought  of  his  dragoman  a  musket  for  personal 
protection.  At  the  first  opportunity  he  tried  the 
weapon,  only  to  find  that  it  would  not  go.  He 
picked  the  flint;  he  primed  it  with  powder  in  the 
pan;  all  in  vain.  At  length  he  opened  it  at  the 
breech  and  discovered  that  the  wily  Arab  had  rammed 
home  a  solid  wad  before  pouring  in  the  powder;  so 
that  the  fire  could  not  get  through.  Such  is  the  effect 
of  cherished  sin  or  worldliness  in  a  Christian  life.  It 
presents  an  impassable  barrier  to  the  influence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.     The  heavenly  fire  cannot  penetrate  it. 

The  Lord  Jesus  wants  our  country  for  himself  and  he 
wants  his  people  to  deliver  it  to  him.  He  is  waiting  for 
us  to  lay  it  before  his  feet.  We  as  individual 
Christians  and  as  a  denomination  have  tarried  long 
enough.  The  immigrant  ships  are  coming  in ;  they 
will  not  wait.  The  line  of  population  moves  toward 
the  west  at  the  startling  rate  of  thirty  miles  a  year; 
it  will  not  wait.  We  have  tarried  in  camp  too  long. 
The  pillar  of  cloud  is  lifting  from  the  tabernacle;  it 
moves  onward !  Shall  we  fall  in  with  the  cavalcade 
of  Israel  and  go  forward?  Shall  we  make  our  influ- 
ence felt  in  the  Conquest  of  America  for  Christ  ? 


THE  ETHICAL  IMPERATIVE. 

"  At  even  my  wife  died,  and  I  did  in  the  morning  as  I  was  commanded." — 
Ezekiel  24,  18. 

The  soul  of  Ezekiel  burned  with  a  passion  of  holy 
zeal.  He  lived  at  a  critical  time  in  the  history  of 
Israel.  Truth  and  knowledge  had  perished  from  the 
way:  the  nation  had  gone  into  its  dotage  and  must 
be  taught  in  object  lessons.  This  was  Ezekiel's  task. 
On  one  occasion  he  stood  before  the  multitude  with 
a  tile  on  which  was  a  rude  sketch  of  the  Holy  City. 
Laying  it  on  the  ground,  he  cast  up  a  mount  and 
raised  fortifications  against  it.  This  needed  no  ex- 
planation. Again  he  appeared  with  a  chain  in  hand 
saying,  "Thus  saith  the  Lord,  I  will  do  unto  the 
people  after  their  way,  and  according  to  their  deserts 
will  I  judge  them."  And  again,  he  cut  off  his  hair 
in  the  presence  of  the  multitude,  divided  it  into 
three  portions,  reserving  a  meager  lock  which  he 
bound  in  the  border  of  his  skirts:  and  when  the  peo- 
ple asked,  ' '  What  meaneth  this  ?  "  he  replied, ' '  Sword, 
famine  and  captivity.  But  a  remnant  shall  be  saved. " 
Thus  he  was  the  kindergartner  of  the  prophets.  His 
work  was  to  admonish  the  recreant  nation  of  ap- 
proaching disaster,  and  to  this  mission  he  gave  him- 
self with  an  utter  abandon  of  consecration.  His 
attitude  was  fearless;   his  words  were  relentless  as 

(96) 


THE   ETHICAL   IMPERATIVE.  97 

fate;  but  the  soul  within  him  was  overwhelmed  with 
pity.  The  severest  duty  put  upon  him  is  recorded  in 
our  context:  "And  the  Lord  said,  I  will  take  away 
from  thee  the  desire  of  thine  eyes  with  a  stroke;  yet 
thou  shalt  make  no  mourning  for  the  dead."  The 
character  of  the  man  is  set  forth  in  the  sequel:  "And 
at  even  my  wife  died,  and  I  did  in  the  morning  as  I 
was  commanded."  He  made  no  outward  sign  of  sor- 
row, uttered  no  moan,  shed  no  tear;  but,  with  covered 
head  and  sandaled  feet,  addressed  himself  to  the 
business  in  hand.  Thus,  to  Israel  he  taught  the  im- 
perativeness of  duty. 

The  same  important  truth  was  inculcated  by  our 
Lord  when  certain  men  came  to  him  and  expressed  a 
desire  to  follow  him.  The  first  was  an  impulsive 
aspirant,  who  said,  "Lord,  I  will  follow  thee  whither- 
soever thou  goest!"  To  him  Jesus  replied,  "The 
foxes  have  holes  and  the  birds  of  the  air  have  nests, 
but  the  Son  of  Man  hath  not  where  to  lay  his  head." 
The  next  was  a  dilatory  candidate,  who  said,  "  Lord, 
I  will  follow  thee;  but  suffer  me  first  to  go  and  bury 
my  father."  To  him  reply  was  made,  "  Let  the  dead 
bury  their  dead ;  go  thou  and  preach  the  kingdom  of 
God."  The  last  was  a  double-minded  man,  who 
said,  "Lord,  I  will  follow  thee;  but  let  me  first  go 
and  say  farewell  to  my  dear  ones,"  and  this  was  the 
stern  rejoinder,  "  No  man  having  put  his  hand  to  the 
plow  and  looking  back,  is  fit  for  the  kingdom  of 
God."  In  other  words  the  call  to  duty  takes  prece- 
dence of  all. 

I.  Bat  What  Is  Duty  ?  Let  the  etymology  of  the 
word  define  it:  Duty  is  debt;  that  is,  the  thing  due. 
Due  to  whom  ?     To  God. 


98  THE    ETHICAL   IMPERATIVE. 

This  repellent  view  of  the  matter  is  modified  by 
the  fact  that  the  debt  referred  to  is  a  debt  of  love. 
Duty  is  "love  in  action."  If  once  I  realize  that  all 
I  have  is  of  providence  and  grace  —  the  breath  in 
my  nostrils,  the  bread  on  my  table,  kinship  and 
friendship,  remission  of  sin  and  the  hope  of  heaven, 
— my  service  takes  the  form  of  the  recognition  of  an 
honest  debt,  and  the  pleasure  of  my  life  will  be  to 
pay  it.  Service  is  still  service,  yet  not  servile  but 
filial;  for  "the  love  of  Christ  constraineth "  me. 
This  was  in  the  mind  of  Wordsworth  when  he  wrote 
his  apostrophe  to  duty: 

"  Stern  Lawgiver  !    Yet  thou  dost  wear 
The  Godhead's  most  benignant  grace ; 
Nor  know  I  anything  so  fair 
As  the  smile  upon  thy  face." 

II.  Here  Is  the  Highest  Motive  of  Life.  A  man  is 
at  his  best  when  discharging  his  duty;  that  is,  meet- 
ing his  obligation  to  the  good  God  who  created  and 
redeemed  him.  The  possible  motives  of  life  are  only 
three : — 

(1)  Self -gratification.  The  world's  trinity  is  live- 
lihood, pleasure  and  honor.  He  who  pursues  these 
enters  into  fellowship  with  the  lower  orders  of  life. 
An  ambitious  man  is  fellow  to  the  lion  that  roars  and 
ravages  in  order  to  be  King  of  Beasts.  The  pleasure- 
seeker  is  fellow  to  the  cheerful  dog  that  moves  from 
the  chill  of  the  creeping  shadow  and  ever  follows  the 
sun.  And  he  who  devotes  himself  to  a  livelihood  or 
"  getting  on  in  the  world,"  is  fellow  to  the  horse  that 
bears  his  burden  or  walks  the  weary  treadmill  for  an 
evening  meal  of  oats. 


THE    ETHICAL    IMPERATIVE.  99 

(2)  Altruism.  God  forbid  that  aught  should  be 
said  against  the  doing  of  kindly  deeds;  for  "though 
I  speak  with  the  tongues  of  men  and  of  angels  and 
have  not  charity,  I  am  become  as  sounding  brass  and 
a  tinkling  cymbal."  Yet  kindness,  in  the  usual 
acceptation  of  the  word,  is  by  no  means  the  greatest 
thing  in  the  world.  Everybody  knows  how  poor 
"Posty"in  "Auld  Lang  Syne  "  ended  his  shiftless 
life  by  leaping  into  the  water  to  save  Mrs.  Mac- 
fadyen's  child;  wherefore  the  author  sent  him  to 
heaven  straight.  But  why  ?  It  was  a  splendid  act, 
indeed;  but  is  any  life  so  barren  as  to  have  no  noble 
impulses  ?  In  fact,  such  deeds  are  humane  but  not 
distinctly  human;  that  is,  they  do  not  differentiate 
us  from  the  lower  orders.  The  dam  cares  for  her 
litter.  The  hen  shelters  her  brood  under  her  wings 
when  the  hawk  hovers  in  the  air.  I  have  seen  a  wild 
goose  circle  about  for  hours  after  its  mate  had  been 
slain.  No,  we  must  look  higher  than  this  for  the 
quality  that  separates  man  from  all  beneath  and 
makes  him  akin  with  God. 

(3)  Duty.  Here  we  are  at  our  best,  because  the 
law  of  our  being  controls  us.  A  stone  for  falling,  a 
flame  for  rising,  a  bird  for  the  air  and  a  fish  for  water; 
such  is  their  nature.  By  the  same  token,  a  man  for 
duty.  In  this  he  stands  alone  and  singular.  Of  all 
living  things  he  alone  was  made  in  the  divine  like- 
Mess;  he  alone  has  God's  breath  in  his  nostrils;  he 
alone  can  "  think  God's  thoughts  after  him  "  ;  he  alone 
is  burdened  with  moral  responsibility,  and  he  alone 
has  power  to  distinguish  betwixt  the  worse  and  better 
reason.  Joseph  Cook  says:  "If  you  please,  sum  up 
the  globes  as  so  much  silver  and  the  suns  as  so  much 


IOO  THE    ETHICAL    IMPERATIVE. 

gold  and  cast  the  hosts  of  heaven  as  diamonds  on  a 
necklace  into  one  scale,  and  if  there  is  not  there  any 
part  of  the  word  Ought — if  Ought  is  absent  from  the 
one  scale  and  present  in  the  other — up  will  go  your 
scale  laden  with  the  universe  as  a  crackling  paper 
scroll  is  carried  aloft  in  a  conflagration  ascending 
toward  the  stars.  God  is  in  the  word  Ought;  and 
therefore  it  outweighs  all  but  God." 

In  the  life  of  Duty,  then,  a  man  is  at  his  noblest. 
Here  he  is  meeting  the  obligations  of  his  nature; 
feeling  his  way  back  to  his  original  estate,  working 
out  the  possibilities  of  his  destiny.  Here  he  becomes 
a  participant  of  the  divine  life. 

"  '  What  shall  I  do  to  be  forever  known  ? ' 
'  Thy  duty  ever  !' 
'  This  did  full  many  who  yet  sleep  all  unknown.' 

'  Oh,  never,  never  ! 
Thinkst  thou,  perchance,  that  they  remain  unknown 

Whom  thou  knowst  not  ? 
By  angel  trumps  in  heaven  their  praise  is  blown, 
Divine  their  lot.'  " 

III.  There  is  No  Absolution  from  the  Behest  of  Duty. 
It  is  aside  from  my  present  purpose  to  point  out  the 
spheres  of  personal  obligation.  Nor  is  this  necessary. 
The  farmer  who  owns  a  thousand  acres  in  Dakota 
needs  no  fences  nor  landmarks  to  enable  him  to  dis- 
tinguish his  own  field.  A  place  is  reserved  in  the 
divine  economy  for  every  man.  The  life  of  a  shirker 
is  a  vast  default.  There  is  a  portion  of  the  temple 
wall  unbuilt  as  yet;  my  friend,  it  awaits  you.  There 
is  a  shop  where  the  tools  lie  unused  on  the  bench; 
the  door  is  open  for  you.  There  is  a  corner  of  the 
field  untilled  and  overgrown   with  weeds;  yours  is 


THE    ETHICAL    IMPERATIVE.  IOI 

the  call  to  sow  there  and  reap  and  garner  for  God. 
Alas  for  us!  we  know  our  duty  and  we  do  it  not! 

And  what  vain  excuses  we  offer;  in  what  mean  sub- 
terfuges we  hide  ourselves.  "I  want  more  light  on 
the  matter."  Nay;  rather,  as  Shaftesbury  said  to 
Locke,  "You  know  too  much;  the  want  is  not  of 
knowledge  but  of  will."  God  asks  only  that  you 
shall  live  up  to  the  measure  of  your  light.  Or  do 
you  say,  "  The  obligation  does  not  appeal  to  me"? 
that  is,  you  want  more  feeling.  But  moods  are  for 
poets  and  lovers,  not  for  plain  servants  like  us.  Duty 
is  not  a  matter  of  sentiment,  but  of  common  honesty 
and  common  sense.  Or,  possibly,  you  are  too  pre- 
occupied, and  waiting  for  leisure.  Alas!  the  gift  of 
a  man's  leisure  is  an  affront  to  God.  He  asks  no 
crippled  lamb,  but  the  firstlings  of  your  flock.  He 
wants  not  your  superflux,  but  you. 

In  some  cases  the  default  is  due  to  discouragement. 
You  set  out  bravely  once,  and  failed.  You  ploughed, 
sowed,  harrowed,  and  reaped  not.  So  the  disciples 
by  the  lake  shore  were  resting  on  their  oars  in  the 
early  morning  when  Jesus  came  and  said,  "  Launch 
out  into  the  deep  and  let  down  your  nets  for  a 
draught."  One  answered,  ''We  have  toiled  all  the 
night  and  taken  nothing;  nevertheless,  at  thy  word 
we  will  let  down  the  net."  And  when  they  had 
done  so,  they  enclosed  a  great  multitude  of  fishes. 
The  word  is  for  you,  my  disheartened  friend. 
Launch  out,  take  heart,  strive  again.  You  are  respon- 
sible only  for  the  effort:  God  for  the  results.  Do 
your  best,  and  he  will  be  with  you. 

There  are  others  who  under  the  shock  of  sudden 
grief  or  calamity  have  been  stunned  into  a  moral 


102  THE    ETHICAL    IMPERATIVE. 

paralysis.  I  knew  a  devoted  servant  of  Christ  who, 
smitten  thus,  resigned  his  positions  of  church  use- 
fulness saying,  "  I  have  no  heart  for  anything  but 
to  be  alone  and  weep."  The  word  of  Ezekiel  is  for 
such:  "At  even  my  wife  died ;  and  in  the  morning 
I  did  as  I  was  commanded."  Our  sorrows,  how- 
ever deep  and  overwhelming,  are  relatively  of  slight 
moment  in  the  economy  of  the  eternal  life.  They 
are  "light  "  at  the  heaviest,  and  "but  for  a  moment  " 
at  the  longest. 

A  few  evenings  since,  a  poor  woman  of  the 
town  came  into  a  concert  hall  on  the  Bowery 
while  a  dance  was  in  progress,  sat  down  at  a 
table,  leaned  her  face  in  her  hands  and  died. 
The  intrusion  of  the  King  of  Terrors  caused  but 
a  momentary  hush.  The  woman  was  carried  out 
and  laid  upon  the  pavement,  then  on  went  the  dance. 
What  is  pain  or  trouble,  what  death  itself,  in  our 
busy  world  ?  The  breaking  of  a  heart,  the  wreck  of 
a  fortune,  the  toppling  of  a  throne, — these  are  but 
ripples  raised  by  the  wind  on  the  surface  of  an  irre- 
sistible tide.  Whatever  happens,  the  world  rolls  on. 
Duty  is  clamorous,  even  at  the  gateway  of  God's 
Acre.  We  walk  among  our  trials  bewildered,  as  in  a 
dream,  but  the  world  is  larger  than  many  graves  and 
life  than  many  heartaches.  These  are  but  for  a 
moment,  duty  is  forever.  Let  the  man  who  sits 
mourning  under  the  juniper  tree  heed  the  voice  of 
reproof,  "What  doest  thou  here?"  The  work  un- 
done, the  wall  unbuilt,  the  field  untilled,  the  vintage 
untrodden,  are  calling  us.  The  test  of  religion  is  to 
heed  that  imperious  voice.  Profession  is  but  lip  serv- 
ice ;  work  tells.    There  is  no  piety  but  applied  piety. 


THE    ETHICAL    IMPERATIVE.  I03 

Vows  are  but  vagrant  zephyrs;  it  is  wind  on  the 
wires  of  the  aeolian  harp,  in  the  bellows  of  the  organ, 
on  the  keys  of  the  flute,  that  makes  the  music  of  life. 

IV.  Here  too  is  the  Secret  of  Happiness.  Shirking  is 
misery.  The  contented  man  is  he  who  lives  above 
circumstance,  who  realizes  that  there  is  no  subterfuge 
from  responsibility,  who  recognizes  the  imperative- 
ness of  duty. 

The  two  great  men  of  the  Reformation  were  Luther 
and  Erasmus.  The  latter,  while  preeminent  for 
learning,  was  the  victim  of  an  incurable  melancholia. 
The  reason  is  not  far  to  seek;  it  was  he  who  said,  "I 
am  resolved  to  do  my  duty — as  far  as  circumstances 
will  permit."  The  life  of  Luther,  on  the  other  hand, 
was  like  a  murmuring  brook  or  a  singing  lark.  And 
again  the  reason  is  not  far  to  seek ;  it  was  he  who 
said,  "Though  there  were  as  many  devils  at  Worms 
as  there  are  tiles  upon  the  housetops,  yet  would  I  go 
there  at  the  behest  of  duty." 

It  maybe  that,  at  the  outset,  duty  is  akin  to  drudg- 
ery; but  drudgery  loses  its  grim  visage  on  closer 
acquaintance.  An  apple  as  it  leaves  the  blossom 
turns  its  thought  and  spends  its  energies  on  growing 
big,  heedless  meanwhile  of  a  puckery  sourness  and 
bitterness  within  ;  but  presently,  having  attained 
its  necessary  growth,  it  turns  its  attention  to  the 
making  of  succulent  juices.  Then,  observing  its  rosy 
flush  and  sweetness,  we  say,  "  The  apple  is  ripe."  So 
it  is  with  a  consecrated  life;  the  beauty  of  holiness  is 
the  result  of  a  calm  and  normal  expenditure  of  energy 
in  the  rigid  discharge  of  duty  day  by  day.  The 
trudging  pilgrim  gains  strength  as  he  moves  on,  lean- 
ing on  divine  strength  as  on  a  staff  and  resting  on  a 


104  THE    ETHICAL    IMPERATIVE. 

good  conscience  as  on  a  soft  pillow,  until  at  length 
he  catches  sight  of  the  glistening  domes  and  pinna- 
cles of  the  heavenly  city.  In  that  supreme  moment 
the  past  is  forgotten  in  the  renewal  of  strength. 
Like  David,  he  "  runs  in  the  way  of  God's  command- 
ment" and  finishes  his  course  with  joy.  Alas  for  one 
who  knowing  his  duty  refuses  or  neglects  to  perform 
it:  but  O  the  blessednesses  of  the  man  who  honors 
his  conscience  by  the  way  and  hears  his  Lord's  ap- 
proval at  the  last,  "Well  done,  good  servant!  " 

Our  Lord  is  our  Exemplar.  Duty  was  his  watch- 
word. There  was  one  great  duty  which  he  owed  to 
himself  as  God.  He  had  come  into  the  world  under 
a  vow  to  accomplish  the  deliverance  of  men.  Calvary 
was  the  goal  toward  which  he  "set  his  face  stead- 
fastly." All  his  life  was  a  journey  to  the  cross.  At 
length  he  came  to  Gethsemane;  there  his  enemies 
found  him.  As  they  drew  near  with  staves  and  lan- 
terns, he  said  "Ye  seek  Jesus  of  Nazareth;  I  am  he." 
There  was  never  a  moment  of  swerving  from  his 
task.  As  a  sheep  before  her  shearers  is  dumb  so  he 
opened  not  his  mouth.  Three  mortal  hours  on  Gol- 
gatha  he  drank  the  cup  of  the  world's  guilt  to  its  bit- 
terest dregs ;  then,  crying,  "  It  is  finished ! "  he  yielded 
up  the  ghost.  His  was  the  path  of  duty.  Take  up 
your  burden,  friend,  and  follow  him.  Lay  down  no 
conditions,  make  no  compromises,  offer  no  excuses. 
Duty  is  ultimate.  When  conscience  speaks,  the  last 
word  is  spoken.  Meet  your  obligation  as  Christ  met 
his;  and  count  it  your  highest  joy  to  meet  him  at  the 
last,  saying,  "I  have  finished  the  work  which  thou 
gavest  me  to  do." 


/#*u  CU-  "^ 


DON'T  WORRY. 

"Take  therefore  no  thought."— Matt.  6,  34. 

The  word  "thought"  is  an  archaism;  its  precise  -' 
meaning  is  anxious  thought.  Luke  gives  us  the  para- 
phrase, "  Neither  be  ye  of  doubtful  mind."  The  figure 
is  that  of  a  ship  in  the  offing  rolling  to  and  fro.  Our 
religion  should  hold  us  steady;  as  an  anchor  to  the 
soul,  sure  and  steadfast,  taking  hold  of  that  which  is 
within  the  veil. 

What  a  world  this  would  be  if  there  were  no  fret,  no 
worry,  no  anxiety !  We  Americans  are  often  reminded 
that  this  is  our  besetting  sin.  We  are  ever  in  a  fever- 
ish haste.  Our  eyes  are  restless,  brows  wrinkled, 
nerves  aquiver.  We  go  through  life  like  a  train  at 
full  speed,  stopping  only  to  take  water  for  more 
steam,  to  cool  off  hot  boxes,  or  for  repairs  after  an 
accident.  It  is  little  wonder  that  we  break  down  or 
prematurely  wear  out.  Our  national  maladies  are  - 
insomnia  and  nervous  debility.  But  Americans  are 
not  the  only  feverish  folk;  the  fault  pertains  to  the 
whole  race.  Thackeray  says,  "  When  I  was  a  boy,  I 
wanted  taffy;  it  cost  a  shilling  and  I  hadn't  one. 
Now  I  am  a  man;  I  have  a  shilling,  but  I  don't  want 
any  taffy."  It  is  safe  to  say,  however,  that  he  was 
still  longing  after  the  unattainable;  in  boyhood  it 
was  taffy;  later  on,  it  was  faiae.  <*-"~-*a5>«-?   -4M~c.  , 

(105) 


106  don't  worry. 

Our  Lord  suggests  a  remedy.  "Come  with  me 
into  the  fields,"  he  says,  "and  observe  how  God  cares 
for  the  world.  Consider  the  lilies  how  they  grow; 
they  toil  not,  neither  do  they  spin.  And  yet  I  say 
unto  you  that  even  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was  not 
arrayed  like  one  of  these.  How  much  more  shall  he 
clothe  you,  O  ye  of  little  faith  ? "  So  let  us  st^p  /&+% 
awhile  and  allow  the  axles  to  cool  while  we  sing: 

"  Father,  whate'er  of  earthly  bliss 

Thy  sov'reign  will  denies, 
Accepted  at  thy  throne  of  grace, 

Let  this  petition  rise: — 
Give  me  a  calm,  a  thankful  heart, 

From  every  murmur  free; 
The  blessings  of  thy  grace  impart, 

And  make  me  live  to  thee." 

Our  Lord,  in  advising  against  all  anxious  thought, 
offers  no  encouragement  to  improvidence.  On  the 
contrary,  the  Scriptures  constantly  enjoin  a  wise 
foresight  and  preparation  for  future  need.  "Go 
to  the  ant,  thou  sluggard ;  consider  her  ways  and  be 
wise."  Our  Lord,  having  fed  the  multitude,  said  to 
his  disciples,  "  Gather  up  the  fragments  that  remain, 
that  nothing  be  lost."  It  is  every  man's  duty  to  lay 
by  for  a  rainy  day.  Be  prepared  for  contingencies! 
Insure  your  house;  it  may  burn  down.  Insure  your 
life;  there  is  no  telling  when  you  may  die.  Above 
all,  get  ready  for  eternity.  If  your  sins  are  not 
forgiven,  it  is  the  part  of  wisdom  to  attend  to  that 
matter  here  and  now.  If  your  accounts  are  unbal- 
anced, balance  them  at  once.  To-day  is  yours, 
to-morrow  is  God's.  He  is  a  prudent  man  who  is  so 
guarded  against  all  future  possibilities  that  he  can 


DON  T    WORRY.  107 

say,  as  Paul  did  when  he  heard  the  footfall  of  the 
executioner  near  his  door,  "  I  am  now  ready  to  be 
offered ;  the  time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand.  I 
have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course, 
I  have  kept  the  faith ;  henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for 
me  a  crown  of  righteousness  which  the  Lord  the 
righteous  judge  will  give  me  in  that  day." 

This  is  the  lesson  of  the  lilies.  True,  they  do  not 
toil ;  yet  they  are  busy  all  the  while.  They  take  no 
anxious  thought;  yet  they  are  ever  preparing  for  the 
morrow.  They  fulfil  the  law  of  their  being,  assimi- 
lating air  and  sunshine  and  the  fructifying  elements 
of  the  soil,  making  ready  thus  to  bloom  in  their 
season.  They  fold  their  leaves  when  the  storm  draws 
near,  bow  their  heads  meekly  and  wait  until  the  clouds 
roll  by.  They  work  but  do  not  worry.  They  are  busy 
but  never  anxious.  Here  is  the  gist  of  the  matter. 
Let  us  also  abide  in  our  places  and  rest  in  God. 

The  word  is,  Take  no  anxious  thought.  About 
what  ?  About  anything.  Worry  is  the  great  hin- 
drance to  -success.  He  is  a  good  workman  who  whis- 
tles at  his  bench.  I  have-  seen  an  old  negro  woman 
in  the  , South  carrying  a  burden  on  her  head  that 
would  have  bent  me  double.  The  secret  was  a  per- 
fect poise.  He  who  gets  his  burden  just  over  his 
head,  just  above  his  conscience,  just  in  the  zenith  of 
his  heart — that  is,  in  the  precise  line  of  spiritual 
gravity — will  have  no  difficulty  in  bearing  it.  Our 
religion  should  be  our  strength.  This  was  Paul's 
meaning  when  he  said,  "  Be  anxious  for  nothing,  but 
in  everything  by  prayer  and  supplication  with  thanks- 
giving let  your  requests  be  made  known  unto  God." 
Let  us  cover  the   case.     The  common  grounds  of 


108  don't  worry. 

worry  are  seven.  And  in  all  these  our  anxiety  is 
groundless  if  we  really  believe  in  God. 

(i)  Let  us  begin  at  the  bottom:  "Why  take  ye 
thought  for  Food  and  Raiment 7"  Here  is  the  universal 
occasion  of  worry.  All  honest  people  are  striving 
for  a  livelihood.  The  men  and  women  whom  we 
meet,  moving  their  lips  as  they  hurry  along  the  streets, 
are  muttering,  "Food  and  raiment."  This  is  "the 
care  of  this  world,"  which  our  Lord  likened  to  weeds 
that  choke  the  word.  They  vex,  entangle,  hamper 
the  plough  ;  trip  us  up  along  the  garden  paths,  crowd 
out  better  things  and  kill  the  fragrance  and  fruitful- 
ness  of  life.  It  is,  indeed,  the  business  of  every  man 
to  earn  a  livelihood ;  but,  if  we  are  in  the  kingdom 
of  Christ,  we  must  needs  believe  that,  with  a  proper 
attention  to  industry  and  thrift,  this  will  be  provided 
for  us.  The  argument  of  Christ  just  here  is  four- 
fold. First,  God  remembers  all.  Second,  If  he  is 
mindful  of  birds  and  flowers,  how  much  more  shall 
he  care  for  you  ?  Third,  It  is  useless  to  worry;  for 
"which  of  you  by  taking  thought  can  add  one  cubit 
to  the  measure  of  his  life  ?  "  And  fourth,  such  anx- 
iety is  unchristian ;  "  for  after  all  these  things  do  the 
Gentiles  seek."  We  are  in  the  kingdom;  wherefore 
it  devolves  upon  us  to  seek  first  the  kingdom  of  God 
and  his  righteousness,  with  confidence  that  all  lower 
and  material  necessities  shall  be  added  unto  us. 

(2)  Much  of  our  worry  is  about  Things  that  Cannot 
be  Helped;  such  as  irretrievable  losses,  incurable  mal- 
adies, thorns  in  the  flesh.  The  Stoics  would  say, 
"  What  can't  be  cured  must  be  endured."  But  there 
is  better  comfort  in  our  Christian  philosophy.  Take 
this:    "All  things  work  together  for  good  to  them 


DON  T    WORRY.  109 

that  love  God  ;"  or  this:  "Our  light  affliction,  which 
is  but  for  a  moment,  worketh  for  us  a  far  more  ex- 
ceeding and  eternal  weight  of  glory  ;  "  or  this :  "Trust 
in  the  Lord  and  do  good ;  so  shalt  thou  dwell  in  the 
land,  and  verily  thou  shalt  be  fed." 

God  makes  no  mistakes.  If  we  are  groaning 
under  some  remediless  trouble,  he  means  that  we 
shall  let  patience  have  her  perfect  work.  A  caged 
bird  gains  nothing  by  breaking  its  wings  against  the 
bars.  Bide  a  wee  and  dinna  weary.  God  knows  all 
and  he  means  all  for  the  best.  Luther  says,  "If 
thou  hast  a  sorrow  beyond  thy  healing,  one  thing 
thou  knowest :  God  can  give  thee  a  sweet  physical 
herb  caMed-potrtntia  that  will  sustain  thee. "  In  answer 
to  Paul's  prayer  for  deliverance  came  the  word,  "My 
grace  is  sufficient  for  thee. " 

(3)  And  then,  as  to  the  Things  that  Never  Happen. 
How  grievously  we  suffer  in  anticipation  of  troubles 
that  come  not!  We  watch  the  gathering  clouds  and 
are  sure  that  our  plans  for  to-morrow  will  come  to 
naught.  We  are  alarmed  by  an  ominous  flush  on  our 
children's  faces.  We  are  apprehensive  lest  our  over- 
eager  creditors  or  our  tardy  debtors  shall  land  us  in 
bankruptcy.  We  are  sure  the  coming  election  will 
go  wrong.  Thus  we  borrow  trouble  on  trouble,  for- 
getting what  the  Lord  said :  Sufficient  unto  the  day 
is  the  evil  thereof. 

"  For  human  bodies  are  sic  fools, 
For  a'  their  colleges  and  schools, 
That  when  nae  real  ills  perplex  them, 
They  mak'  enow  themsels  to  vex  them." 

I  wonder  how  Adam  felt  when  he  saw  the  first 
sunset.     All  day  he  rejoiced  in  the  benignant  light: 


HO  DON  T    WORRY. 

but  now  the  great  luminary  sank  nearer  and  nearer 
toward  the  west,  the  birds  betook  themselves  to  their 
perches,  the  twilight  deepened  into  darkness,  and 
silence  was  over  all.  No  doubt  he  bade  a  sorrowful 
farewell  to  the  vanishing  orb  of  light.  But  with  the 
next  morning  it  rose  in  the  east  again,  coming  forth 
like  a  bridegroom  from  his  chamber.  So  a  kind 
Providence  is  ever  putting  us  to  shame  in  the  dawn 
of  bright  mornings.  Life  has  enough  of  real  sorrow; 
why  shall  we  anticipate  the  future  ?  Let  us  hope  for 
the  best,  and  have  faith  in  God. 

(4)  But  surely  we  have  reason  to  be  anxious  with 
reference  to  our  Personal  Salvation  ?  Not  at  all.  The 
way  is  perfectly  clear.  If  we  receive  the  Scriptures, 
there  is  one  thing  to  do:  "He  that  believeth  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  shall  be  saved."  To  believe  is  to 
accept  Christ  as  our  Saviour  from  sin.  And  then, 
"There  is  therefore  now  no  more  condemnation  to 
them  that  are  in  Christ  Jesus."  We  have  done  our 
part  and  he  will  assuredly  do  his.  There  is  nothing 
to  gain  by  worrying  about  it.  If  we  are  ever  in 
doubt,  the  reasonable  thing  to  do  is  to  get  upon  our 
knees  and  renew  our  surrender.  And  so  again  and 
again,  as  often  as  need  be.  "  But  can  I  hold  out  ?" 
No,  indeed,  you  cannot.  The  question  is  not  as  to 
whether  you  can  hold  out,  but  whether  God  can.  It 
is  his  grip,  not  ours,  that  secures  us.  His  word  is, 
"Ye  have  not  chosen  me,  but  I  have  chosen  you"; 
and  further,  "No  man  shall  pluck  you  out  of  my 
hand."  It  is  better  to  look  up  than  to  look  in;  for 
our  help  cometh  from  the  hills.  I  am  not  at  all  sure 
that  I  shall  be  able  to  stand:  but  "Tknow  him  in 
whom  I  have  believed,  and  am  persuaded  that  he  is 


DON  T    WORRY.  Ill 

able  to  keep  that  which  I  have  committed  unto  him 
against  that  day." 

(5)  We  are  deeply  concerned  and  anxious  further- 
more, as  to  our  Progress  in  the  Christian  Life.  Are  we 
growing  duly  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth  ?  This,  also,  is  God's  affair  if  we  are  wholly 
committed  to  him.  The  question  is  not  of  growth 
primarily,  but  of  life.  A  marble  statue  cannot  grow 
because  the  vital  principle  is  not  within  it.  A  branch 
cut  from  the  vine  withers  because  the  life  current  no 
longer  flows  through  it.  Life  necessitates  growth. 
We  do  not  grow  by  trying  to  grow,  but  simply  by 
growing  in  pursuance  of  law.  A  true  Christian  is  a 
better  man  with  each  succeeding  day,  though  he  may 
not  be  aware  of  it.  The  very  fact  that  he  laments 
his  shortcoming  and  feels  an  increasing  desire  for 
larger  measures  of  spiritual  power  and  wisdom,  is 
proof  of  it.  He  who  busies  himself  in  the  Master's 
work,  need  not  fret  about  the  deepening  of  his 
spiritual  life.  His  path  must  be  as  the  shining  light 
that  shineth  brighter  and  brighter  unto  the  perfect 
day. 

The  life  principle  is  faith,  which  unites  us  with 
Christ.  Faith  has  been  likened  to  the  gastric  fluid, 
a  wonderful  solvent  which  separates  and  dissolves 
our  food  so  that  the  body  can  appropriate  and  assim- 
ilate it.  All  our  food  is  thus  put  under  contribution 
to  feed  the  blood  and  sinew  and  bone  and  marrow, 
and  to  further  the  development  of  the  whole  man. 
In  like  manner  faith  makes  pain  and  pleasure,  be- 
reavement and  joy,  success  and  disappointment, work 
together  for  our  good.  These  are  the  spiritual  diet 
which  God  prepares  for  us;    but   they    "profit  us 


112  DON  T    WORRY. 

nothing,"  as  Paul  says  of  the  word,  unless  they  be 
"mixed  with  faith"  in  us. 

(6)  Still  further,  we  wish  and  wonder  and  worry 
as  to  the  Results  of  our  Labor.  A  faithful  Christian 
said  recently,  "  I  have  been  a  teacher  in  the  Sabbath 
School  for  thirty  years ;  and  I  do  not  know  that  I 
have  ever  brought  a  single  soul  to  Christ."  The 
prayer  of  Moses  finds  an  echo  in  the  heart  of  many 
a  devoted  servant,  "O  Lord,  establish  thou  the 
work  of  our  hands  upon  us;  yea,  the  work  of  our 
hands  establish  thou  it!  " 

But  pause  and  reflect.  We  are  mere  underlings. 
The  work  is  God's.  Paul  may  plant  and  Apollos 
may  water,  but  God  giveth  the  increase.  Our 
responsibility  ceases  with  the  discharge  of  duty.  He 
sends  some  into  his  field  as  ploughmen  to  break  up 
the  fallow  ground  ;  like  Adoniram  Judson  who  labored 
for  years  with  no  apparent  fruit.  He  sends  others 
into  the  field  to  scatter  the  seed-wheat;  like  Ruther- 
ford who  toiled  long  at  Anworth  and  bemoaned  his 
ill  success.  He  sends  others  with  sickle  in  hand  to 
reap  and  gather  into  the  garner;  like  Whitfield  and 
Moody  to  whom  a  multitude  of  souls  are  given  for 
their  hire.  But  here  is  his  definite  assurance,  "He 
that  soweth  and  he  that  reapeth  shall  rejoice  together. " 
Meanwhile,  let  us  have  no  undue  solicitude,  but 
rejoice  in  this:  "My  word  shall  not  return  unto  me 
void,  but  it  shall  accomplish  that  which  I  please  and 
prosper  in  the  thing  whereto  I  sent  it." 

The  woman  of  Samaria  after  her  conversation  with 
Jesus  left  her  water-pot  at  the  well,  and  hastening 
into  the  city  said  to  her  friends  and  neighbors, 
"  Come,  see  a  man  that  told  me  all  things  that  ever  I 


DON  T    WORRY.  113 

did.  Is  not  this  the  Messiah  ?  "  This  was  her  par- 
ticular work';  and,  having  performed  it,  she  is  heard 
of  no  more.  Time  passed;  and  Philip  the  Evan- 
gelist came  to  Samaria  and  sowed  the  gospel  there. 
A  great  revival  followed :  but  just  as  the  harvest  grew 
yellow  under  his  hand,  Philip  in  turn  was  sent  away; 
the  angel  of  the  Lord  saying,  "Arise  and  go  toward 
the  desert."  It  must  have  been  a  grievous  disap- 
pointment to  him;  but  he  arose  and  went.  Then 
came  Peter  and  John  with  sickle  in  hand  and  reaped 
the  harvest.  Theirs  was  the  great  honor  among  men ; 
but  in  heaven  the  unnamed  woman,  the  evangelist 
and  the  two  apostles  rejoice  together. 

Let  all  faithful  workers  be  of  good  cheer.  No 
labor  is  for  naught,  no  prayer  is  unanswered,  no  holy 
purpose  is  wasted.  Many  a  farmer  who  scatters  the 
grain  in  June  dies  before  September.  But  what  mat- 
ters it  ?  All  alike  are  serving  the  glory  of  God.  And 
here  is  our  comfort:  "  He  that  goeth  forth  and  weep- 
eth,  bearing  precious  seed,  shall  doubtless  come  again 
with  rejoicing,  bringing  his  sheaves  with  him." 

(7)  Our  last  anxiety  is  with  reference  to  the  Con- 
version  of  the  World.  I  recently  attended  a  humani- 
tarian Congress  where  frequent  expression  was  given 
to  the  thought  that  Society  is  going  to  the  bad.  For 
even  a  secular  socialist  to  entertain  that  view,  is  sug- 
gestive of  a  most  lamentable  color  blindness.  But 
blue  glasses  are  not  for  Christians.  "Let  those 
refuse  to  sing  who  never  knew  our  God."  The  mel- 
ancholy view  of  human  affairs  which  prevails  in  some 
quarters  may  be  due  in  part  to  a  disorder  of  the 
physical  functions,  and  in  part  to  the  overturning  of 
personal  schemes.     We  are  like  a  colony  of  crickets 


114  DON  T    WORRY. 

who,  when  a  ploughshare  goes  through  the  hill,  begin 
with  one  accord  to  chirp  that  the  world  is  coming  to 
an  end.  But  God  reigns  and  everything  is  going 
right.  We  may  vanish  from  the  earth,  and  our  plans 
for  social  betterment  may  go  with  us;  but  the  world 
will  roll  on.  The  word  of  our  Master  is  full  of  en- 
couragement: "All  power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven 
and  on  earth;  go  ye  therefore  and  evangelize;  and  lo, 
I  am  with  you  alway  even  unto  the  end  of  the  present 
order  of  things." 

We  have  covered  the  entire  ground ;  and  what  is 
our  conclusion  ?  Let  us  alway  and  under  all  circum- 
stances take  God  at  his  word.  He  sees  the  end  from 
the  beginning,  and  we  can  trust  him.  In  the  court 
of  the  prison  sat  Jeremiah  bathed  in  tears.  Jerusalem 
was  besieged  by  the  Babylonian  army  and  the  Lord 
had  declared  that  its  inhabitants  were  to  be  carried 
into  captivity.  Just  then  the  word  came  to  Jeremiah, 
"Buy  the  field  that  is  at  Anathoth."  This  was  the 
very  field  on  which  the  Babylonians  had  pitched 
their  camp.  It  was  to  be  sold  under  foreclosure  and 
would  "  go  for  a  song ;  "  for,  under  the  circumstances, 
who  in  Israel  would  be  so  bold  as  to  purchase  it? 
But  the  prophet  had  faith,  blind  faith;  and  taking 
God  at  his  word,  he  bought  the  field  at  Anathoth, 
and  "weighed  out  the  money  even  seventeen  shekels 
of  silver."  Then  when  the  purchase  was  consum- 
mated, the  word  of  the  Lord  came  again  to  Jeremiah, 
saying,  "Houses  and  fields  and  vineyards  shall  be 
possessed  again  in  this  land."  And  events  proved 
the  wisdom  of  the  investment.  O  what  outlays  of 
time  and  energy  we  should  be  constantly  making 
in  the  spiritual  province,  if  we  could  implicitly  and 


don't  worry.  115 

unreservedly  believe  in  God!  We  note  the  conquests 
and  encroachments  of  passing  errors  and  wonder 
what  the  end  will  be:  but  the  time  will  surely  come 
when  the  ground  now  occupied  by  the  enemy  shall  be 
in  possession  of  the  church  of  God. 

In  this  confidence  let  us  live  by  the  day.  A  day  at 
a  time  is  enough.  The  year  has  been  likened  to  a 
desk  with  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  drawers,  each 
containing  a  letter  of  instructions  for  a  single  day. 
To  open  them  all  in  over-eagerness  and  to  confront 
all  future  duties  and  responsibilities  at  once,  is  to 
court  perplexity  and  embarrassment.  "The  day 
present,"  as  Tyndale  translates,  "hath  ever  enough 
of  its  own  trouble."  Let  us  in  the  morning  open  our 
instructions  for  the  day.  Let  us  do  this  on  our 
knees  and,  rising  with  strong  faith,  go  forth  to  meet 
our  duties.  Trust  and  rest  j  here  is  the  secret  of  a 
happy  life.  And  the  great  word  of  comfort  is  this: 
"As  thy  day,  so  shall  thy  strength  be." 


THE  TWELVE. 

"  And  he  ordained  twelve,  that  they  should  be  with  him,  and  that  he  might 
send  them  forth  to  preach  and  have  power  to  heal  sicknesses  and  cast  out 
devils." — Mark  3,  14-15. 

A  newborn  child  has  need  of  special  care.  The 
Church  at  the  outset  must  be  safeguarded  and  fos- 
tered by  means  that  would  be  quite  unnecessary  in 
its  maturity.  For  this  reason  the  Twelve  were  en- 
dued with  extraordinary  powers.  They  are  some- 
times spoken  of  as  "  a  Cabinet " ;  but  this  is  as  far  as 
possible  from  the  truth,  since  they  had  no  advisory 
power,  nor  executive  either  apart  from  their  Chief. 
Their  function  was  transmission,  they  being  the 
channels  through  which  the  Lord  was  to  communi- 
cate himself  to  succeeding  ages. 

The  marks  of  their  holy  office  were  three  :  First , 
they  were  to  "be  with  him";  that  is,  in  constant 
attendance  upon  him.  Since  they  were  to  be  his  bio- 
graphers, they  must  be  able  to  speak  with  authority 
as  to  his  character  and  manner  of  life.  Second,  they 
were  to  preach;  that  is,  to  declare  the  evangel.  This 
included  the  stereotyping  of  that  evangel  in  Scripture. 
The  New  Testament  was  wholly  written  by  the  apos- 
tles; for  which  particular  duty  they  were  endowed 
with  infallibility ;  they  ' '  wrote  as  they  were  moved  by 
the  Holy  Spirit."  Third,  they  received  the  charismata, 
that  is,  spiritual  gifts  for  the  working  of  miracles. 

(n6) 


THE   TWELVE.  117 

At  the  time  of  the  ordaining  of  the  Twelve,  the 
followers  of  Jesus  were  a  feeble  folk  like  the  conies. 
It  was  necessary  that  the  new  enterprise  should  be 
sustained  and  fostered  in  an  extraordinary  manner. 
But  as  the  strength  and  numbers  of  the  Church 
increased,  her  symbols  of  faith  and  practice  being 
finished,  and  her  Oracles  sealed,  the  Day  of  Pentecost 
being  "fully  come"  and  the  common  gifts  of  the 
Spirit  conferred  on  all,  the  special  provision  might  be 
dispensed  with.  A  scaffolding  may  be  necessary  in 
the  rearing  of  the  elevation  of  a  temple,  but  as  the 
walls  rise  the  temporary  supports  are  removed.  That 
which  is  no  longer  important  would  better  be  taken 
out  of  the  way. 

In  the  organization  and  personnel  of  this  Duodecem- 
virate  there  are  striking  evidences  of  divine  wisdom. 
It  was  a  curiously  constituted  body.  Some  of  its 
peculiarities  are  most  interesting  and  profitably  sug- 
gestive : — 

1.  To  begin  with,  the  number  Twelve.  In  this  the  mys- 
tics discovered  an  important  symbolism;  to  wit,  as 
three  is  the  number  of  the  holy  Trinity  and  four  the 
number  of  universality,  so  their  product  marks  the 
Duodecemvirate  who  in  the  name  of  the  Trinity 
should  go  forth  to  the  conquest  of  the  world.  This 
is  interesting  but  wholy  fanciful. 

The  number  was  probably  suggested  by  the  twelve 
sons  of  Jacob.  An  emphasis  is  thus  put  upon  the 
fact  that  Judaism  and  Christianity  are  not  two 
religions  but  one.  There  is  one  God.  There  is  one 
Bible  covering  all  history  from  the  protevangel  to 
Malachi,  and  from  the  advent  to  the  announcement 
of   the   strong   angel,    "Time   shall    be   no   more." 


Il8  THE    TWELVE. 

There  is  one  cross  throwing  its  radiance  backward 
over  all  prophecy  and  forward  into  all  history ;  giving 
significance  to  every  lamb  slain  on  the  ancient  altars 
and  providing  the  only  hope  of  deliverance  from  sin. 
There  is  one  religion  also  and  one  only,  covering  the 
Old  Economy  and  the  New.  Christianity  is  not  a  new 
system,  but  the  consummate  fruit  and  flower  of 
Judaism  with  its  rites  and  symbols  all  centering  in 
Christ.  It  was  meet  and  proper,  therefore,  that  our 
Lord,  in  organizing  his  Church,  should  ordain  the 
twelve  apostles  to  stand  side  by  side  with  the  twelve 
sons  of  Israel  for  the  propagation  of  the  religion  of 
the  one  true  God. 

2.  The  question  occurs,  Why  were  there  no  Women 
among  them  ?  The  reason  is  not  far  to  seek.  It  was 
certainly  not  because  our  Lord  would  suggest  any 
disparity  of  the  sexes.  There  is  a  difference,  how- 
ever, to  ignore  which  would  be  to  set  oneself  athwart 
the  law  of  nature.  The  work  to  which  the  apostles 
were  called  was  one  of  peculiar  hardship;  it  was 
distinctly  a  work  for  men. 

The  "  new  woman,"  though  clamoring  for  a  con- 
spicuous place  in  public  life,  was  eloquently  silent 
when  volunteers  were  recently  wanted  for  our  war 
with  Spain.  Her  part  in  that  conflict  was  important, 
indeed,  in  ministering  to  the  sick  and  wounded,  but 
not  amid  the  confused  noise  of  battle  on  the  high 
places  of  the  field.  In  like  manner  the  Lord  had 
need  of  woman's  ministry,  but  not  among  those  who 
were  to  mingle  in  the  tumult  of  the  early  propa- 
ganda, exposed  to  the  publicity  of  the  madding 
crowd  and  braving  dangers  oft  by  land  and  sea.  The 
duties   of  the   apostolate  were  of  such   a  character 


THE    TWELVE.  119 

that  it  is  no  reflection   on  womanhood  when  we  say- 
that  men  were  better  fitted  to  discharge  them. 

3.  Why  were  not  Celibates  exclusively  chosen  to  this  holy 
office?  Had  that  been  done,  our  friends  of  the  Romish 
Church  would  have  been  spared  a  great  perplexity; 
but  indeed  it  would  have  been  contrary  to  the 
divine  economy.  It  is  God  who  setteth  the  soli- 
tary in  families;  and  his  well-beloved  Son  put  a  per- 
petual sanction  on  wedlock  in  attending  the  marriage 
supper  at  Cana.  We  cannot  say  with  absolute  cer- 
tainty how  many  of  the  twelve  were  married,  but 
there  is  no  question  whatever  as  to  Peter,  who  is 
claimed  as  the  original  Pope  (Mark  1,  30).  This  fact 
is  referred  to  by  the  Apostle  Paul,  in  asserting  his 
right  to  marry  a  sister  in  the  Lord  (1  Cor.  9,  5).  The 
doctrine  of  a  celibate  clergy  is  unsparingly  denounced 
in  Paul's  letter  to  the  young  pastor  of  the  Corinthian 
church,  where  he  warns  him  against  certain  seducing 
spirits  who  are  "forbidding  to  marry;"  such  teaching 
he  characterizes  as  "  a  doctrine  of  devils"  (1  Tim. 
4,  3).  The  consistent  teaching  of  all  Scripture  is 
that  wedlock  is  "honorable  in  all." 

4.  Let  it  be  observed  that  the  apostles  were  all  Men  of 
the  People.  There  was  not  an  aristocrat  among  them, 
nor  a  beggar,  though  there  is  room  as  well  for  beg- 
gars as  for  millionaires  in  the  church.  Christ  him- 
self was  a  carpenter.  In  the  immediate  circle  of 
his  followers  there  were  several  fishermen.  Philip  is 
reputed  to  have  been  a  charioteer.  All  belonged  to 
"the  Third  Estate."  Wealth  is,  indeed,  no  bar  to 
the  fellowship  of  Christ,  nor  is  poverty;  but  alas  for 
the  church  made  up  of  the  indolent  rich  or  of  the 
indolent  poor!     The  Church  is  mainly  recruited  from 


120  THE    TWELVE. 

among  the  bourgeoisie,  the  men  of  brain-craft  and 
handicraft,  the  producers. 

Time  was  when  labor  was  held  in  disrepute;  the 
gospel  in  its  calm  influence  along  the  centuries  has 
glorified  it. 

We  hear  it  rumored  in  some  quarters  that  the 
Church  has  lost  its  grip  on  the  laboring  classes. 
This  is  as  far  as  possible  from  being  true.  Too 
many,  indeed,  are  still  alienated  from  the  Church 
and  from  Christ  their  fellow-craftsman.  But  an  ever- 
increasing  number  is  being  won  year  by  year.  The 
conquests  of  the  propaganda  are  chiefly  among  this 
class.  The  efforts  of  the  Church  are  most  welcome 
and  successful  here;  and  the  ultimate  winning  of  the 
Third  Estate  is  destined  to  usher  in  the  Golden  Age. 

5.  The  Twelve  were  all  Unlettered  men.  It  would 
have  been  an  easy  matter  for  Christ  to  gather  an 
apostolate  from  among  the  rabbis  and  philosophers. 
The  Sanhedrin  was  ever  willing  to  endorse  his  claims 
and  purposes,  wrould  he  but  comply  with  their  terms. 
But  Nicodemus  was  not  chosen;  the  young  lawyer,  a 
professor  of  Biblical  exegesis,  was  not  chosen;  the 
Scribes  and  Pharisees,  so  far  from  being  chosen,  were 
repulsed  in  severest  terms. 

The  world  had  had  enough  of  rabbinical  wisdom 
and  philosophy,  enough  of  wire-drawing  and  hair- 
splitting. The  people  were  weary  of  theological 
controversy.  The  truths  that  were  essential  to  life 
and  that  must  needs  be  proclaimed  for  the  world's 
deliverance,  were  of  the  simplest  character.  Sin  and 
salvation;  love  Godward  and  manward;  these  were 
fundamental  and  these  were  within  the  comprehen- 
sion of  all.     There  would  presently  be  a  place  for 


THE    TWELVE.  121 

Paul  and  ultimately  for  Augustine  and  Calvin;  but 
what  the  world  needed  at  this  juncture  was  a  deliver- 
ance from  subtle  dogmatics  and  apologetics  and  a 
clear  statement  of  rudimental  truth.  This  was  Christ's 
meaning  when  he  took  a  little  child  upon  his  knee  and 
said,  ' '  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  except  ye  become 
as  this  little  child,  ye  shall  in  no  wise  enter  the  king- 
dom of  God." 

6.  They  were  all  Townsmen ;  not  a  farmer  nor  a 
shepherd  among  them.  The  announcement  of  the 
incarnation  came  to  shepherds  while  watching  their 
flocks  and  to  magi  watching  the  stars.  But  the  men 
needed  for  the  organization  of  the  Church  were  not 
dreamers  and  anchorites,  but  such  as  were  familiar 
with  earnest  life.  It  is  the  city  that  gives  knowledge 
of  human  nature.  "As  iron  sharpeneth  iron,  so  a 
man  sharpeneth  the  countenance  of  his  friend."  Not 
dreamers  of  dreams  and  seers  of  visions,  not  diffident 
husbandmen,  not  introspective  anchorites  were  needed 
at  the  organization  of  the  Church,  but  rather  men  of 
affairs  accustomed  to  busy  life  and  fearing  not  the 
faces  of  their  fellow  men. 

7.  They  were  as  Unlike  as  possible.  A  man  of  rock, 
two  sons  of  thunder,  a  doubter,  a  guileless  Israelite; 
each  had  his  characteristics,  and  each  was  fitted  to 
the  place  ordained  for  him.  We  may  find  here  a  sug- 
gestion as  to  rational  Church-union.  There  are  those 
who  would  blot  out  all  the  distinctions  between  the 
denominations  and  set  up  a  rigid  uniformity  in 
thought  and  method.  But  "fences  make  good  neigh- 
bors." There  was  never  a  time  since  the  beginning  of 
the  Christian  era  when  the  various  bodies  of  believers 
were   more   clearly   differentiated    in   their  peculiar 


122  THE   TWELVE. 

tenets  or  more  cordially  united  in  the  fellowship  of 
service  than  now.  God  be  praised  that  they  can  thus 
agree  to  differ  and  keep  the  peace !  The  twelve  apostles, 
so  diverse  in  temperament  and  character,  were  still 
united  and  harmonious  in  their  consecration  to  Christ. 
Not  uniformity  but  harmonious  action  is  what  we  need. 
"In  essentials  unity,  in  non-essentials  diversity,  in  all 
things  charity  "  is  the  watchword  that  should  unite  us. 

8.  They  were  Alike  in  their  Conviction  and  Confession 
of  Sin.  There  was  not  a  "saint"  among  them.  They 
were  men  of  like  passions  and  infirmities  with  our- 
selves. Had  Jesus  desired  an  apostolate  of  perfect 
beings,  he  must  have  chosen  from  among  the  angels. 
All  of  the  apostles  were  imperfect  and  some  had  glar- 
ing faults.  If  Peter  could  speak  for  himself  to-day 
he  would  say,  "Take  me  out  of  your  Calendar  of 
Saints;  I  am  the  man  who  denied  my  Lord."  And 
Thomas  would  say,  "Take  me  also  out  of  your  Cal- 
endar; I  am  the  man  who  doubted  his  power  over 
death. "  And  the  Twelve  with  one  accord  would  say, 
"We  were  not  Saints,  but  sinners  all,  sinners  saved 
by  grace."  We  are  drawn  nearer  to  these  men  by 
this  consideration ;  and  furthermore,  it  emphasizes 
the  sweet  lesson  of  charity.  It  minimizes  self  and 
magnifies  Christ;  it  makes  the  grateful  song  of 
Wesley  ours  : 

"I'm  a  poor  sinner  and  nothing  at  all, 
But  Jesus  Christ  is  my  all  in  all." 

9.  And  there  was  One  Hypocrite  among  them.  Jesus 
knew  Judas;  he  said  of  him,  "  He  hath  a  devil"; 
nevertheless  he  chose  him.  It  is  as  if  Kaiser  Wilhelm 
were  to  select  an  arch-anarchist  to  be  his  Chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer.     Was  this  to  teach  us  that  a  man 


THE    TWELVE. 


123 


may  mingle  in  the  sweetest  Christian  fellowship  and 
still  be  an  enemy  of  truth  ?  "  Anear  the  kirk,  afar 
frae  God."  A  name  on  a  church  roster  or  a  high 
place  of  ecclesiastical  preferment  is  no  proof  of  vital 
godliness.  The  Lord  knoweth  his  own.  The  tares 
and  the  wheat  must  grow  together  until  the  harvest. 
"A  man  may  cry,  '  Church,  Church,'  with  no  more 
piety  than  other  people."  Let  us  not  conclude,  how- 
ever, that  to  be  overtaken  in  a  glaring  fault  or  exposed 
to  public  shame  is  proof  positive  of  hypocrisy.  Who 
am  I,  or  who  are  you,  to  pass  judgment  in  this 
matter  ?  The  Lord  looketh  on  the  heart.  "  Let  him 
that  thinketh  he  standeth,  take  heed  lest  he  fall." 
One  betrayed  Christ,  another  denied  him,  all  forsook 
him.  It  behooves  us,  in  view  of  these  things  and  of 
Christ's  admonition,  to  ask  with  all  earnestness, 
"Lord,  is  it  I  ?" 

10.  Not  a  few  of  the  Twelve  were  Nobodies  j  that  is, 
there  is  little  or  no  record  of  them.  Let  us  not  infer, 
however,  that  they  accomplished  nothing.  God 
keeps  the  chronicles.  He  knows  how  many  churches 
they  founded,  how  many  sermons  they  preached,  how 
many  miracles  they  wrought,  how  many  sinners  they 
brought  to  him.  Our  standards  of  success  and  great- 
ness are  illusory.  The  makers  of  history  have  not 
been  the  conspicuous  leaders  whose  names  are  writ 
large  on  the  monuments.  We  have  much  to  say  of 
Cromwell  and  the  Silent  William  and  Coligny;  but 
it  is  the  tramp,  tramp,  tramp  of  the  rank  and  file — the 
Puritans,  the  Beggars  of  Holland,  the  Huguenots — ■ 
men  who  lived  unknown  and  died  unhonored  and  un- 
sung— that  has  marked  the  advancement  of  the  cen- 
turies.    Here  are  names  without  a  record,  as  Seth 


124  THE    TWELVE. 

and  Enos  and  Jared  and  Mahalaleel.  And  here  are 
records  without  names:  as  of  the  little  maid  in 
Naaman's  palace,  the  little  lad  with  the  basket  of 
loaves,  the  man  who  brought  the  beast  of  burden  to 
Jesus  for  his  triumphal  entry,  the  soldier  who 
quenched  his  fever  thirst  on  the  cross.  God  knows 
about  them.  "The  Master  praises;  what  are  men?" 
Let  us  be  willing  to  serve  God  in  obscurity  if 
need  be.  He  that  seeth  in  secret  shall  reward  us 
openly.  The  names  of  the  faithful,  though  unre- 
corded in  earth's  annals,  are  written  on  the  palms  of 
his  hands. 

ii.  All  the  Twelve  wet e  Martyrs.  The  only  one  in 
question  is  John ;  and  tradition  says  that  he  was 
dragged  by  his  gray  hairs  through  the  streets  of 
Ephesus  and  cast  into  the  arena  "to  be  ground  as 
God's  fine  wheat  by  the  teeth  of  lions." 

They  climbed  the  steep  ascent  to  heaven, 

'Mid  peril,  toil,  and  pain  ; 
O  God,  to  us  may  grace  be  given 

To  follow  in  their  train  ! 

Here  is  a  lesson  for  these  piping  times  of  peace.  The 
story  of  the  apostles,  who  faced  the  gleaming  ax  for 
Jesus'  sake,  puts  us  to  shame.  There  is  no  room  for 
a  coward  in  the  goodly  fellowship.  Why  should  we 
"be  carried  to  the  skies  on  flowery  beds  of  ease?" 
The  danger  of  martyrdom  has  passed;  and,  alas!  we 
shrink  before  a  pointed  finger.  Let  us  be  ready  to 
endure  hardness  as  good  soldiers  of  Christ.  His 
word  is,  "If  any  man  will  come  after  me,  let  him 
deny  himself,  take  up  his  cross  and  follow  me." 

12.  The  Apostles  had  No  Successors.  There  was  no 
occasion  for  any  to  succeed  them.    The  infant  Church, 


THE    TWELVE.  I  25 

during  the  century  which  elapsed  before  the  death  of 
John  the  Evangelist,  had  grown  to  such  maturity  in 
strength  and  influence,  that  it  could  be  left  safely  to 
the  protecting  care  of  God's  common  Providence. 
He  who  kindles  a  fire  on  his  hearthstone  must  select 
the  proper  sort  of  tinder  and  arrange  it  carefully; 
then  kneel  and  blow  gently  on  the  kindling  spark ; 
but  after  a  while  he  rises  to  his  feet,  knowing  that 
with  proper  oversight  the  fire  will  burn  of  itself. 
Thus  Christ  fostered  the  early  Church;  but  presently 
came  Pentecost;  and  thenceforth  the  air  was  full  of 
oxygen  to  feed  the  flame. 

I  am  not  disposed,  however,  to  controvert  the  claim 
of  those  who  insist  on  "the  Apostolic  Succession." 
We  stand  open  to  conviction ;  and  it  should  be  an  easy 
matter  to  convince  us.  All  that  is  necessary  in  order  to 
establish  the  apostolic  lineage  and  authority  of  these 
brethren  is  that  they  should  show  themselves  to  be 
possessed  of  the  three  apostolic  signs ;  to  wit,  First, 
They  must  have  lived  and  walked  with  Jesus  in  the 
flesh,  listened  to  his  words,  beheld  his  miracles,  and 
witnessed  his  resurrection  (Acts  i,  21,  22).  Second, 
They  must  be  infallible  in  the  communication  of 
spiritual  truth.  The  twelve  wrote  Scripture ;  so  far 
as  we  are  aware,  no  one  of  their  alleged  successors 
has  ever  added  a  single  page.  Indeed,  there  is  only 
one  man  living  to-day  who  claims  infallibility  in  these 
premises;  and  some  of  us  have  doubts  of  even  him. 
Third,  They  must  have  power  to  work  miracles.  There 
are  some  who  profess  to  heal  the  sick  by  laying  on  of 
hands;  but  at  the  best  they  cannot  claim  anunvarying 
success,  nor  do  they  attribute  their  therapeutic  power 
to  any  aposto  lie  charismata.     There  is  apparently  less 


126  THE    TWELVE. 

of  healing  virtue  in  the  entire  College  of  Cardinals 
than  in  Peter's  shadow  or  John's  handkerchief. 

In  addition  to  the  Apostolate,  the  Lord  appointed 
"other  seventy  also  "  to  go  forth  among  the  villages 
and  preach  his  gospel.  In  addition  also  to  these  sev- 
enty he  made  every  one  of  his  followers  an  agent  of 
the  propaganda.  He  breathed  on  them  all,  men, 
women  and  children,  saying,  "  Receive  ye  the  Holy 
Ghost";  adding,  "As  the  Father  hath  sent  me  into 
the  world,  so  send  I  you."  Thus,  in  a  broad  and 
blessed  sense,  all  are  apostles,  being  "sent  ones." 

In  the  mind  of  Jesus  there  was  a  magnificent  pur- 
pose; no  less  than  the  setting  up  of  his  kingdom  on 
earth  and  the  deliverance  of  the  race  from  sin.  A 
place  in  that  great  purpose  is  assigned  to  the  hum- 
blest of  his  people.  The  man  who  hears  not  or  heeds 
not  such  appointment  makes  a  failure  of  life.  On 
the  back  of  Holman  Hunt's  picture  of  "The  Light 
of  the  World "  —  representing  the  King,  thorn- 
crowned,  lantern  in  hand,  standing  without  the  door, 
knocking — is  the  artist's  autograph  in  these  words: 
"Lord,  pass  me  not  by!"  But,  indeed,  the  Lord 
passes  by  no  man  who  is  willing  to  receive  him.  He 
calls  us  to  a  large  salvation,  which  means  not  merely 
redemption,  but  election  to  the  high  privilege  of  serv- 
ice. He  sends  us  every  one  to  carry  on  the  work 
which  he  began  and  his  apostles  furthered  in  the  lay- 
ing of  the  foundations  of  the  Church.  If  we  follow 
in  his  steps,  pursue  his  work,  devote  ourselves  to  the 
winning  of  souls  and  the  building  of  his  kingdom 
here  and  now,  we  shall  pass  in  through  the  apostolic 
gate  at  last  and  receive  his  commendation, ' '  Well  done, 
good  servant,  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord!  " 


AT  THE  WATER-GATE. 

"And  all  the  people  gathered  themselves  together  as  one  man  into  the 
street  that  was  before  the  Water-gate."— Nehemiah  8,  i. 

In  the  year  604  B.C.  the  city  of  Jerusalem  fell  into 
the  hands  of  Nebuchadnezzar  and  was  presently 
reduced  to  utter  ruin  and  desolation.  The  inhabit- 
ants were  carried  away  in  successive  deportations  to 
Babylon,  where  they  "hung  their  harps  on  the  wil- 
lows and  wept  when  they  remembered  Zion."  In 
536  B.C.  a  proclamation  was  issued  by  Cyrus  author- 
izing the  return  of  a  colony  under  Zerubbabel  to 
rebuild  the  temple  and  restore  the  sacred  rites.  In 
479  B.C. — fifty-seven  years  later  —  Ezra  the  scribe 
returned  with  another  company;  he  devoted  himself 
particularly  to  the  reformation  of  morals.  It  was 
very  clear  that  there  could  be  no  permanent  improve- 
ment until  the  people  should  renew  their  loyalty  to 
the  Scriptures,  which  were  the  symbol  of  both  their 
political  and  their  religious  life. 

To  the  help  of  Ezra  came,  after  ten  years,  Nehemiah, 
the  cup-bearer  of  Artaxerxes.  As  governor  of  the 
province,  he  was  instructed  to  address  himself  to  civil 
affairs  and  particularly  to  the  rebuilding  of  the  walls. 
He  was  an  astute  politician  as  well  as  a  devout  man. 
He  conferred  with  Ezra,  who  said,  "We  must  get 
back  to  the  Constitution  of  the  Theocracy. " — "But 

(127) 


128  AT    THE    WATER-GATE. 

where  is  that  Constitution  ?  "  asked  Nehemiah. —  "  In 
the  Scriptures, "  was  the  reply, ' '  which  have  long  been 
a  dead  letter  among  the  people." — "Where  are  those 
Scriptures?" — "The  copy  which  was  preserved  in 
the  Ark  of  the  Covenant  was  carried  away  to  Babylon 
and  lost.  I  have  been  engaged,  during  the  ten  years 
since  my  return,  in  getting  them  together.  The  scroll 
is  now  complete;  and  I  suggest  that  the  people  be 
assembled  to  hear  it." 

In  pursuance  of  this  suggestion,  a  Constitutional 
Assembly  was  convened  on  the  first  of  the  seventh 
month,  444  B.C.  It  was  in  the  great  public  square  of 
Ophel,  before  the  Water-gate.  Not  less  than  fifty  thou- 
sand men,  women  and  children  came  together  there. 
It  was  a  stirring  scene.  For  the  first  time  in  a  century, 
the  walls  being  now  completed  and  the  gates  in  place, 
the  inhabitants  of  the  city  might  assemble  thus  in 
security.  Their  purpose  was  to  hear  the  Scriptures. 
A  platform  had  been  reared,  on  which  Ezra,  with 
thirteen  priests  and  as  many  Levites  took  their  place. 
This  platform  is  called  "a  pulpit";  but  it  was  dis- 
tinctly not  what  we  understand  by  the  pulpit.  It  did 
not  enclose  the  ministers  or  separate  them  from  the 
people. 

Our  pulpit  took  its  rise  in  those  ages  of  spiritual 
declension  when  the  truth  was  minimized  and  "holy 
orders  "  were  invested  with  an  unseemly  authority. 
The  priest  climbed  by  a  winding  stairway  to  his  place 
on  a  pillar,  far  above  the  congregation  ;  a  place  beseem- 
ing one  who,  as  Dryden  says,  "swelled  to  counsel 
kings  and  govern  kingdoms."  A  railing  must  needs 
be  there  for  protection;  and  within  this  enclosure 
stood  the  superior  being,  like  an  angel  leaning  from 


AT    THE    WATER-GATE.  129 

a  balcony.  In  the  dawning  light  of  the  Reforma- 
tion this  platform  was  gradually  lowered  to  the  level 
of  the  people,  with  only  so  much  of  elevation  as  was 
needed  for  the  convenience  of  being  seen  and  heard. 
But,  alas!  the  fence  remained  and  still  remains;  and 
this  is  the  pulpit.  I  say  it  is  an  archaism,  a  tradi- 
tional impertinence,  and  a  vast  inconvenience.  There 
is  no  reason  for  it,  in  Scripture  or  in  common  sense. 
The  preacher  is  not  a  being  apart  from  or  above  his 
fellows,  but  a  man  among  men. 

I.  "And  Ezra  opened  the  book  in  the  sight  of  all  the 
people;  and  when  he  opened  it,  all  the  people  stood  up." 
There  were  no  listless  or  indifferent  ones;  but  at  the 
opening  of  the  scroll,  all  as  one  man  assumed  an  atti- 
tude of  attention  and  reverence.  Why  ?  What  was 
this  scroll  that  so  impressed  them  ?  It  was  the  Penta- 
teuch, the  long-neglected  Book  of  the  Law.  It  was 
those  Five  Books  of  Moses  which,  in  many  quarters 
to-day,  are  treated  with  scant  courtesy.  It  was 
Genesis,  Exodus,  Leviticus,  Numbers  and  Deuteron- 
omy— the  same  Deuteronomy  which  some  of  our 
sapient  critics  have  discovered  to  be  a  forgery! 

They  say  we  are  living  in  an  age  of  Bible  study. 
It  is  probably  true  that  there  never  was  a  time  when 
the  Scriptures  were  viewed  with  such  severe  scrutiny 
by  scholars  devout  and  otherwise.  There  is  reason 
to  suspect,  however,  that  among  average  Christians 
there  is  much  neglect  of  Holy  Writ.  We  are  in- 
formed by  scientists  that  the  germs  of  many  con- 
tagious diseases  are  circulated  in  the  dust  blowing 
along  our  streets.  The  dust  that  lies  on  our  unused 
Bibles  is  the  occasion  of  much  of  the  spiritual  infirm- 
ity of  our  times;  in  it  are  the  germs  of  doubt  and 


130  AT    THE    WATER-GATE. 

skepticism  and  infidelity.  No  man  can  live  an  ear- 
nest Christian  life  except  as  he  is  loyal  to  the  word 
of  God. 

It  must  be  said,  furthermore,  that  not  all  the 
scholars  who  devote  themselves  assiduously  to  the 
study  of  the  Scriptures,  show  a  due  regard  for  its 
divine  character.  There  are  many  who  openly  and 
flagrantly  dishonor  it ;  not  merely  by  sneering  at 
considerable  portions,  but  by  reducing  it  for  crit- 
ical use  to  the  level  of  other  books.  The  position 
assumed  in  some  of  our  theological  seminaries  is 
this:  In  order  to  a  judicial  investigation  and  crit- 
ical study  of  the  Scriptures,  you  must  put  aside  all 
preconception  of  its  sacred  character  and  regard 
it  precisely  as  you  would  an  uninspired  writing. 
This  is  a  most  unreasonable  and  pernicious  sophism. 

It  may  do  for  outsiders  to  view  revelation  in  this 
manner;  but  surely  not  for  Christians  who  have 
solemnly  accepted  the  Book  as  an  infallible  rule  of 
faith  and  practice,  and  who  stand  pledged  to  the 
proposition  that  the  Scriptures  were  prepared  "by 
holy  men  who  wrote  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy 
Ghost."  It  is  impossible  for  these  to  waive  the  doc- 
trine of  inspiration.  Nor  is  it  necessary.  A  man 
need  not  put  aside  his  loyalty  as  an  American  citizen 
in  order  to  an  impartial  study  of  the  principles  of 
the  Constitution.  The  son  of  Lord  Tennyson  was 
not  required  to  disavow  his  filial  love  when  he  under- 
took to  write  a  just  biography  of  his  father.  A  jury- 
man is  not  asked  to  dispossess  his  mind  of  precon- 
ceptions as  to  dishonesty  before  he  can  pass  judgment 
on  a  prisoner  at  the  bar.  If  the  contention  of  the 
destructive  critics  is  just,  we  are  driven  to  this  pre- 


AT    THE    WATER-GATE.  I31 

posterous  conclusion:  that  we  as  Christians  must  not 
presume  to  view  judicially  the  life  and  character  of 
Jesus  Christ,  unless  we  previously  lay  aside  all  our 
love  and  devotion  to  him. 

In  justice  to  our  religion,  in  fulfillment  of  our 
espousal  vows,  we  are  bound  to  regard  the  Scripture 
as  a  book  by  itself,  solitary  and  alone,  given  by  inspi- 
ration as  the  unveiling  of  the  divine  mind.  "Do 
you  mean  to  assert,  then,  that  Christianity  is  the 
religion  of  a  book?"  Aye;  why  not?  "But  we 
thought  it  was  the  religion  of  Christ."  So  it  is;  the 
religion  of  Christ  as  he  is  portrayed  in  the  Book. 
We  speak  of  our  Republic  as  a  Constitutional  Gov- 
ernment,— that  is,  a  government  resting  on  a  written 
symbol.  Is  it  not,  then,  the  republic  of  Washington 
and  Madison,  of  Jefferson  and  Hamilton,  of  Frank- 
lin and  Adams  ?  Aye;  but  only  as  they  have  recorded 
and  perpetuated  their  political  convictions  in  the  Con- 
stitution. And  by  common  consent  the  perpetuity  of 
our  nation  depends  upon  our  loyalty  to  that  compen- 
dium of  political  truth.  In  like  manner  the  Bible,  as 
the  reflex  of  the  divine  mind,  is  the  very  life  of  Christi- 
anity;  and,  as  such,  it  stands  apart  from  and  infinitely 
superior  to  all  other  books. 

In  the  desert  of  Midian  there  were  many  acacia 
bushes,  and  Moses  might  have  smitten  any  with  his 
shepherd's  crook.  But  one  day  he  saw  a  bush  aflame 
and  not  consumed.  He  said,  "  I  will  now  turn  aside 
and  see  this  great  sight."  But  a  voice  came  from 
the  bush  saying,  "  Draw  not  nigh  hither:  put  off  thy 
shoes  from  off  thy  feet ;  for  the  place  whereon  thou 
standest  is  holy  ground.  I  am  the  Lord  thy  God!  " 
Then  Moses  hid  his  face  and  was  afraid  to  look.     In 


132  AT    THE    WATER-GATE. 

like  manner  the  world  is  full  of  books;  but  there  is 
one  which  we  approach  with  reverence,  because  it  has 
fed  bonfires  through  all  the  ages  and  is  not  yet  con- 
sumed; and  a  voice  proceeds  from  it  saying,  "I  am 
the  Lord  thy  God !  " 

The  conspicuous  sin  of  our  time  is  irreverence 
toward  the  sacred  Word.  We  take  all  manner  of 
liberties  with  it.  We  draw  upon  it  for  riddles  and 
pleasantries.  Proeul,  procid  abeste,  profani!  Hands 
off  the  Ark!  For  it  is  written,  "Thou  hast  magnified 
thy  word  above  all  thy  name!  " 

Ministers  of  righteousness,  stand  up  at  the  unfold- 
ing of  the  scroll!  Put  away  your  penknives  and  veil 
your  faces.  God  speaks  from  his  oracles ;  let  all  the 
earth  keep  silence  before  him. 

Men  and  women  of  Christ,  bow  your  faces  at  the 
opening  of  the  Book!  Speak  with  caution.  Who 
are  we  that  we  should  put  our  quarter-ounce  of  ped- 
antry against  omniscience  ?  The  wisdom  of  man  is 
as  ephemeral  as  the  breath  of  his  nostrils.  The  heav- 
ens shall  be  rolled  up  as  a  scroll  and  the  earth  shall 
be  consumed  as  with  fervent  heat;  but  the  word  of 
the  Lord  endureth  forever! 

II.  llSo  they  read  in  the  book  distinctly,  and  gave  the 
sense,  and  caused  them  to  wider  stand  the  reading. "  At 
this  point  "the  people  were  in  their  place;"  this 
probably  means  that  they  sat  down.  But  why  should 
they  sit  down  ?  Because  there  is  a  clear  difference 
between  God's  word  and  a  preacher's  exposition. 
One  is  authoritative  and  inerrant;  the  other  is  an 
opinion,  true  or  false  as  the  case  may  be.  A  wise 
minister  does  not  expect  his  people  to  receive  his 
interpretation   of    Scripture    as    final;   he   asks   only 


AT    THE    WATER-GATE.  133 

that  they  give  due  attention  to  his  statement  as  the 
result  of  careful  study  and  investigation,  and  then 
put  it  to  the  test,  weighing,  judging,  proving  all 
things  and  holding  fast  that  which  is  good.  My 
friend,  let  no  man  take  your  crown.  Think  for 
yourself;  let  no  man,  preacher  or  otherwise,  do  your 
thinking  for  you.  Make  the  word  of  the  Lord  your 
court  of  last  appeal;  and  be  able  to  give  to  every 
man  a  reason  for  the  faith  that  is  in  you. 

An  important  part  of  the  work  of  Ezra,  with  his 
scribes  and  Levites  in  the  great  assembly,  was  the 
translation  of  the  sacred  writings  into  the  Aramaic 
tongue.  For  the  people  in  their  long  captivity  had 
almost  or  quite  forgotten  the  Hebrew.*  God  be 
praised  for  Wyclif  who,  at  peril  of  his  life,  translated 
the  Scriptures  into  the  English  tongue,  saying,  "If 
God  please,  I  will  cause  that  every  ploughman  and 
every  apprentice  shall  be  able  to  read  the  divine  ora- 
cles for  himself."  God  be  praised  that  the  meanest 
of  the  Stuarts  was  moved  to  give  us  the  King  James 
Version.  It  is  rumored  that  the  Romish  Church  is 
about  to  retranslate  the  Vulgate  for  a  more  general 
circulation  among  the  people.  Who  shall  estimate 
the  possibilities  of  such  an  enterprise  ?  We  have  had 
enough  of  cabalistic  prayers  and  scriptures.  Paul 
wisely  wrote  to  the  Corinthians,  "I  would  rather 
speak  five  words  with  the  understanding  than  a 
thousand  words  in  an  unknown  tongue." 

Then  came  the  Exposition  of  the  Word.  The 
scribes  and  Levites  "gave  the  sense  and  caused  the 
people  to  understand."      This  was  preaching.      The 

♦The  language  of  Jesus  in  his  preaching  was  the  Aramaic;  as  in  the  words, 
Ephphatha;  Talitha  cumi;  Eloi,  Elol,  lama  sabachthani. 


134  AT    THE    WATER-GATE. 

only  true  preaching  is  expository.  Not  that  a  text 
is  necessary;  this  being  purely  conventional.  Nor 
is  it  always  best  to  analyze  a  particular  paragraph 
and  treat  it  seriathn.  But  true  preaching  is  ever  a 
setting  forth  of  those  great  principles  which  are  en- 
shrined with  quickening  power  in  Holy  Writ.  It  is 
to  state  them  "distinctly,"  to  "give  the  sense, "  to 
"  cause  the  people  to  understand,"  and  to  apply  those 
principles  to  the  common  affairs  of  life.  This  is  what 
the  people  want;  not  vocal  gymnastics  nor  oratorical 
pyrotechnics;  and  certainly  not  a  treatment  of  cur- 
rent problems  without  reference  to  divine  truth.  The 
word  sermo  means  "a  thrust."  A  sermon  is  a  clear, 
effective  thrust  with  the  sword  of  the  Spirit  which  is 
the  word  of  God. 

We  are  not  unfrequently  told  that  the  pulpit  of  our 
time  "has  lost  power."  It  is  doubtless  true  that 
some  pulpits  have  done  so;  but  ministers  of  the  gos- 
pel who  hold  themselves  to  the  declaration  of  the 
inerrant  Word  are  not  complaining  of  a  lack  of 
hearers.  The  pulpit  as  an  institution  is  and  must 
ever  be  the  greatest  power  in  the  world.  "  The  Pul- 
pit versus  the  Press  "  is  not  an  open  question.  We  do 
not  underestimate  the  power  of  the  Press  for  good  or 
evil;  but  on  what  basis  will  you  compare  them  ?  The 
ratio  in  the  last  reduction  is  that  of  a  penny  whistle 
to  a  roll  of  thunder.  The  press  is  the  purveyor  of 
news  in  politics,  in  society,  in  international  affairs. 
We  want  the  news,  the  secular  news,  from  the  re- 
motest corners  of  the  earth;  but  the  Good  News  of 
salvation  we  must  have  or  die.  So  long  as  sin  runs 
through  the  veins  of  the  race;  so  long  as  the  uni- 
versal heart  throbs  to  the  question,   "What  shall  I 


AT    THE    WATER-GATE.  135 

do  to  be  saved  ?  "  ;  so  long  as  men  have  splendid 
dreams  of  character  and  influence  and  eternal  life; 
so  long  must  the  power  of  the  pulpit  be  supreme. 
The  telegraph  wires  are  laden  and  vibrant  with  mes- 
sages; but  there  is  no  message  like  this  which  comes 
from  the  heavenly  throne,  the  news  that  God  so  loved 
the  world  that  he  gave  his  only-begotten  Son  to 
suffer  and  die  for  it. 

III.  As  to  the  Results  of  that  great  Assembly.  For 
events  like  lives  must  be  measured  by  their  fruits. 
"  If  any  man  be  a  hearer  of  the  word  and  not  a  doer, 
he  is  like  unto  a  man  beholding  his  natural  face  in  a 
glass;  for  he  beholdeth  himself,  and  goeth  his  way, 
and  straightway  forgetteth  what  manner  of  man  he 
was.  But  whoso  looketh  into  the  perfect  law  of  lib- 
erty and  continueth  therein,  he  being  not  a  forgetful 
hearer,  but  a  doer  of  the  work,  this  man  shall  be 
blessed  in  his  deed." 

It  is  recorded  that,  as  the  reading  and  exposition 
of  the  Scriptures  proceeded,  the  people  answered, 
"Amen,  Amen,  with  lifting  up  their  hands."  They 
saw  themselves  reflected  in  the  Law.  They  knew 
the  law  was  holy,  just  and  good;  they  knew  that 
they  had  broken  it.  An  old  man  and  his  wife  once 
sat  down  to  read.  Presently  he  said,  "Wife,  if  these 
things  are  true,  we  are  all  wrong."  As  they  read 
further  she  said,  "Husband,  if  these  things  are 
true,  we  are  lost."  They  still  read  on;  until  they 
were  moved  to  say,  "If  these  things  are  true,  we  are 
saved!  "  There  is  no  more  striking  evidence  of  the 
divinity  of  the  book  than  in  the  quick  response  which 
mind,  conscience  and  heart  make  to  it. 

"And  all   the   people  wept. "     It  was  an  affecting 


13b  AT    THE    WATER-GATE. 

sight;  the  great  assembly  moved  to  passionate  tears, 
as  a  wheat  field  bowing  in  the  wind.  But  why  weep? 
No  doubt  on  the  outskirts  of  the  assembly  there  were 
some  who  curled  their  lips  in  scorn  at  the  reading 
of  the  Mosaic  Cosmogony,  the  Flood,  the  Destruction 
of  the  Cities  of  the  Plain,  the  Giving  of  the  Law,  the 
Pillar  of  Fire,  the  Blood  streaming  from  the  brazen 
Altar.  These  were  mere  fables  to  their  minds;  for 
there  were  overwise  people  in  those  days  as  now.  But 
life  had  gone  wrong  with  the  multitude,  and  they  were 
moved  by  the  very  opening  words  of  the  scroll,  "  In 
the  beginning  God  !  "  They  saw  their  own  experience 
in  the  sorrow  of  the  antediluvians.  They  shook  and 
trembled  with  the  multitude  who  gathered  around 
Sinai.  They  feared  with  their  fathers  on  the  Passover 
night,  with  the  blood  on  the  lintels  of  the  doors  and 
the  angel  of  destruction  passing  over.  They  bowed 
their  faces  to  the  earth  around  the  flaming  altar  and 
beneath  the  pillar  of  cloud.  They  were  in  no  mood  to 
speculate  on  the  jot  and  tittle  of  moral  or  doctrinal 
distinctions  now;  they  were  as  sinners  in  the  hands 
of  an  angry  God. 

But  more,  they  "  worshiped  the  Lord  "  and  renewed 
their  covenant  with  him.  It  was  a  time  for  reconse- 
cration.  They  determined  that  day  to  abandon  their 
inconsistent  manner  of  life,  to  give  up  usury  and 
extortion,  to  observe  the  holy  convocation.  This  was 
a  Revival  indeed.  It  was  a  return  to  pure  and  unde- 
filed  religion. 

And  Nehemiah  said  to  the  people,  "  Go  your  way, 
eat  the  fat  and  drink  the  sweet,  and  send  portions 
unto  them  for  whom  nothing  is  prepared;  for  this 
day  is  holy  unto  the  Lord ;  neither  be  ye  sorry,  for 


AT    THE    WATER-GATE.  137 

the  joy  of  the  Lord  is  your  strength."  Why  should 
they  not  rejoice  ?  They  had  indeed  been  smitten  to 
the  heart  by  a  clear  perception  of  their  sins;  but  they 
had  also  seen  at  the  altar  a  foregleam  of  the  cross, 
and  they  knew  that  God  stood  ready  to  forgive  their 
sin.  Then  came  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles.  Up  and 
down  the  streets  of  Jerusalem  went  the  multitude 
waving  lulab  branches  and  singing,  "  O  that  men 
would  praise  the  Lord  for  his  goodness  and  his  won- 
derful works  to  the  children  of  men!  " 

Let  us  return  to  our  Bibles,  dear  friends,  if  we 
would  know  the  joy  of  the  Lord.  We  cannot  too  soon 
assume  a  loving,  reverent  and  responsive  attitude  to 
his  Scriptures.  Dear  Book!  In  the  darkness  of  sin, 
thou  hast  been  our  dayspring  from  on  high.  In 
sorrow  thou  hast  given  us  the  garment  of  praise  for 
the  spirit  of  heaviness.  In  trial  thou  hast  lightened 
our  burdens.  Thou  hast  been  our  sun  by  day,  our 
moon  and  stars  by  night;  and  in  the  valley  of  death 
thou  wilt  be  a  rod  and  a  staff  to  comfort  us.  Thou 
art  a  well  in  the  Valley  of  Baca,  from  which  we  drink 
up  strength  along  the  way.  Thou  art  deep  as  the  sea ; 
sharp  as  a  two-edged  sword  even  to  the  dividing 
asunder  of  soul  and  spirit;  fierce  as  a  consuming  fire 
to  those  who  reject  or  revile  thee;  soothing  as  balm 
of  Gilead  to  the  wounded  soul. 

To  the  Law  and  the  Testimony,  O  people  of  Christ ! 
Have  you  been  absorbed  in  selfish  cares  and  pleasures  ? 
Take  down  the  Book  and  prayerfully  read  it.  Have  you 
been  mourning,  "  Dear  Lord,  and  shall  we  ever  live 
at  this  poor  dying  rate"?  Open  the  Book,  and  ob- 
serve how  God  waits  to  be  gracious.  See  how  the 
face  of  Jesus  looks  out  upon  you  from  every  page  ; 


138  AT    THE    WATER-GATE. 

how  his  love  is  written  everywhere  between  the  lines. 
Hear  his  word  of  invitation,  and  let  your  soul  re- 
spond "Amen." 

It  is  said  that  when  the  war  of  Holland  with  Spain 
was  over,  the  people  of  Haarlem,  reduced  to  starva- 
tion by  a  protracted  siege,  assembled  to  hear  the 
proclamation  of  peace.  The  oldest  man  in  the  city 
had  been  appointed  to  read  it.  His  eyes  were  dim ; 
his  voice  was  tremulous.  The  people  strained  their 
ears  to  hear;  they  watched  the  moving  of  his  lips; 
whatever  else  they  missed,  one  thing  was  clear;  the 
day  of  peace  had  come!  So  in  our  perusal  of  the 
blessed  Book,  we  come  upon  much  that  is  difficult  to 
understand.  How  could  it  be  otherwise,  since  it 
came  from  the  infinite  Mind  ?  But  this  is  plain  as  the 
sun  at  noon:  God  loves  the  world  and  has  given  his 
only-begotten  Son  to  die  for  our  salvation.  In  the 
pages  of  the  Book  we  behold  a  picture  of  ourselves 
and  thereat  we  weep.  We  behold  God,  and  see- 
ing him,  we  weep;  for  he  is  just  and  righteous  alto- 
gether. And  we  behold  the  cross,  his  overture  of 
peace  to  sinners;  and  thereat  we  cease  to  weep.  The 
joy  of  the  Lord  becomes  our  strength.  We  make 
merry  as  in  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  because  his 
goodness  is  great  toward  us. 


AT  THE  THRESHOLD  OF  JOSEPH'S 
HOUSE 

"And  when  they  were  come  into  the  house,  they  saw— ."—Matt.  2,  11. 

The  tetrarch  of  Judea  was  much  disturbed.  He 
had  hardened  himself  against  the  memories  of  a  mis- 
lived  past.  He  could  laugh  at  the  specters  that  shook 
their  fingers  at  him  in  the  night-watches.  But  what 
he  could  not  endure  was  the  thought  of  losing  his 
crown.  The  air  was  filled  with  rumors  of  a  coming 
king.  The  Jews  had  long  been  expectant.  Virgil 
had  sung  his  Ninth  Eclogue,  predicting  the  approach 
of  One  who  should  usher  in  the  Golden  Age.  The 
same  thought  was  prominent  in  the  contemporary- 
drama  of  the  Greeks.  And  on  all  hands  there  was  a 
substantial  agreement,  mentioned  by  Tacitus,  Sueto- 
nius and  Josephus,  that  this  Messiah  was  to  be  born 
among  the  Jews. 

The  arrival  of  the  Magi  at  Jerusalem  threw  the 
naturally  suspicious  Herod  into  a  paroxysm  of  jealous 
fear.  They  had  gone  from  door  to  door  asking, 
"  Where  is  he  that  is  born  King  of  the  Jews  ?"  The 
rabbis,  subservient  to  the  tetrarch's  will,  came  to- 
gether in  haste.  "Tell  me,"  he  demanded,  "where 
this  King  of  Israel  should  be  born  ?  "  The  prophecy 
of  Micah  was  recalled  :  "And  thou,  Bethlehem  Ephra- 
tah,  though  thou  be  little  among  the  thousands  of 

(139) 


140  AT    THE    THRESHOLD    OF    JOSEPH'S    HOUSE. 

Judah,  yet  out  of  thee  shall  he  come  forth  that  is  to 
be  ruler  in  Israel ;  whose  goings  forth  have  been  from 
of  old,  from  everlasting."  Thereupon  the  Magians 
were  sent  for.  "Go  to  Bethlehem,"  said  Herod, 
"  and  search  diligently  for  the  young  child ;  and  when 
ye  have  found  him,  bring  me  word  again,  that  I  also 
may  come  and  worship  him."  As  they  passed  through 
the  gates,  the  star  that  had  previously  guided  them 
reappeared,  and  they  rejoiced  with  exceeding  joy. 

It  must  have  been  toward  morning  when  they  en- 
tered Bethlehem,  still  asking,  "Where  is  he  that  is 
born  King  of  the  Jews  ? "  They  were  directed  to  the 
house  of  Joseph.  And  now  they  are  standing  at  the 
threshold;  but  let  them  pause  before  they  lift  the 
latch,  and  let  us  pause  with  them;  for  within  that 
door  is  the  greatest  of  mysteries, — the  Incarnation. 
Let  not  mortals  rush  in  where  angels  fear  to  tread 
The  Ark  of  the  Covenant  was  a  symbol  of  that  truth, 
God  manifest  in  flesh.  Over  it  the  cherubim  stood 
in  reverent  attitude,  with  downcast  eyes;  as  it  is  writ- 
ten, "which  things  the  angels  desire  to  look  into." 

I.  Let  us  remark  of  these  Magi  before  they  enter, 
that  they  believed  in  God.  They  were  Zoroastrians, 
worshiping  the  sun  as  a  visible  symbol  of  the  true 
God.  They  were  astronomers  also;  versed  in  theo- 
logical lore  as  set  forth  in  the  music  of  the  spheres. 

"What  though  in  solemn  silence  all 
Move  round  this  dark  terrestrial  ball  ? 
What  though  no  real  voice  nor  sound 
Amid  those  radiant  orbs  be  found? 
In  reason's  ear  they  all  rejoice 
And  utter  forth  a  glorious  voice, 
Forever  singing  as  they  shine, 
'The  hand  that  made  us  is  Divine."' 


AT    THE    THRESHOLD    OF    JOSEPH'S    HOUSE.  141 

It  has  been  written,  "An  undevout  astronomer  is 
mad  ";  and  the  same  may  be  asserted  of  any  rational 
being  who  denies  the  existence  of  God.  Theism  is 
an  intellectual  necessity.  If  one  were  to  account  for 
the  speed  of  a  locomotive  by  saying,  "The  wheels 
are  doing  it,"  you  would  naturally  ask,  "  But  what 
is  back  of  the  wheels?"  If  he  should  reply,  "The 
steam  is  moving  them,"  you  would  still  ask,  "But 
what  is  back  of  the  steam  ?  "  And  your  reason  would 
not  rest  until  it  found  the  engineer.  If  you  were  to 
observe  from  a  hilltop  the  skilful  maneuvers  of  a 
battle,  the  marchings  and  countermarchings,  the 
infantry  in  line,  the  cavalry  speeding  over  the  hills  to 
reenforce  them,  the  artillery  placing  their  guns  in 
every  coign  of  vantage,  the  suggestion  that  this  was 
automatic  would  provoke  a  smile.  You  would  sweep 
the  valley  with  your  field-glass  until  you  found  the 
commander-in-chief  before  his  tent  directing  all.  We 
are  on  a  world  that  speeds  along  its  orbit  with  a 
thousand  times  the  rapidity  of  the  Empire  State  Ex- 
press, aud  it  needs  no  argument  to  prove  a  hand  at  the 
throttle.  We  are  in  the  thick  of  the  conflict  of  current 
events;  and  it  needs  no  argument  to  prove  a  direct- 
ing Providence.  A  profession  of  atheism  is  proof 
presumptive  of  an  ill-balanced  or  unsettled  mind. 
"The  fool  hath  said  in  his  heart,  There  is  no 
God." 

II.  But  these  Magians  not  merely  believed  in  God ; 
they  wished  to  see  hint.  They  inquired  for  "the  King  of 
the  Jews,"  indeed  ;  but  there  was  a  profound  signifi- 
cance in  the  phrase.  It  was  a  proverb,  "  Salvation  is 
of  the  Jews."  The  expectation  was  that  God  would, 
from  among  his  chosen  people,  make  bare  his  arm 


142  AT    THE    THRESHOLD    OF    JOSEPH  S   HOUSE. 

for  deliverance.  This  was  "The  Hope  of  Israel,"  and 
the  world  sympathized  with  it.  "The  King  of  the 
Jews,"  was,  therefore,  a  Messianic  title;  as  were  "Im- 
manuel "  and  "Son  of  God."  There  is  a  sense  in 
which  all,  being  created  in  the  divine  image,  are  sons 
of  God;  but  this  Messiah  was  to  be  the  "only-begot- 
ten." All  the  coins  that  were  issued  under  the  domin- 
ion of  Caesar  bore  his  image  and  superscription;  but 
that  image  was  impressed  in  a  peculiar  manner  on 
his  son.  In  his  veins  flowed  the  royal  blood;  he  was 
heir  apparent  to  the  throne.  It  had  been  prophesied 
that  God  would  manifest  himself  in  like  manner  in 
the  last  days :  "For  unto  us  a  child  is  born,  unto  us  a 
Son  is  given :  and  the  government  shall  be  upon  his 
shoulder:  and  his  name  shall  be  called  Wonderful, 
Counsellor,  The  Mighty  God,  The  Everlasting  Father, 
The  Prince  of  Peace;"  also,  "A  virgin  shall  conceive 
and  bear  a  son  and  shall  call  his  name,  Immanuel; 
that  is,  God  with  us." 

It  was  to  see  Messiah — not  another  Ahab  or  Manas- 
seh — that  the  Magians  came  so  far.  Their  apprehen- 
sion of  the  great  truth  was  probably  dim  as  com- 
pared with  ours;  but  the  star  gave  it  emphasis.  It 
was  a  singular  star;  going  before  them  in  the  heavens 
and  beckoning.  Here  surely  was  "a  heavenly  con- 
junction "  in  a  higher  sense  than  scientists  understand 
it.  All  the  potentates  of  the  earth  could  not  kindle 
such  an  omen  in  the  skies.  It  was  as  if  God  himself 
were  saying,  "Follow!  Follow!  I  have  somewhat  to 
show  you." 

To  see  God  is  the  desire  of  all  earnest  men.  "  Show 
us  the  Father  and  it  sufficeth  us."  The  eldest  of  the 
patriarchs  has  left  a  pathetic  story  of  this  quest:   "O 


AT    THE    THRESHOLD    OF    JOSEPH  S    HOUSE.  1 43 

that  I  knew  where  I  might  find  him,  that  I  might 
come  even  to  his  seat.  I  would  order  my  cause  before 
him,  and  fill  my  mouth  with  arguments.  Behold,  I 
go  forward,  but  he  is  not  there;  and  backward,  but 
I  cannot  perceive  him :  on  the  left  hand,  where  he 
doth  work,  but  I  cannot  behold  him;  he  hideth 
himself  on  the  right  hand,  that  I  cannot  see 
him." 

In  pursuance  of  this  longing  for  a  visible  God  the 
children  of  Israel  made  them  the  golden  calf.  It  is 
so  hard  to  worship  the  Incomprehensible  Essence. 
Perhaps  a  philosopher  may  grasp  it;  but  the  multi- 
tudes still  go  asking,  "  Where  is  he  ?  " 

III.  The  Magi,  standing  at  Joseph's  door,  have 
come  to  the  right  place  to  find  God.  If  there  is  a  God,  as 
all  believe,  and  if  he  is  our  Father,  he  will  surely 
manifest  himself  in  some  way.  But  how  ?  The  hope 
of  Moses,  in  his  prayer  "Show  me  thy  glory," 
was  that  the  veil  might  be  withdrawn  before  his 
fleshly  eyes.  That,  however,  is  impossible;  for  no 
man  can  see  God  and  live.  The  light  of  all  the  orbs 
floating  in  space,  concentrated  into  one  fierce  sun- 
burst, could  not  equal  the  dazzling  brightness  of  his 
face.  The  prayer  of  Moses  was  heard ;  he  hid  him- 
self in  the  cleft  of  the  rock  and  God  passed  by;  there 
was  the  rustling  of  a  moving  garment,  a  momentary 
shadow ;  and  that  was  all. 

We  search  for  God  in  nature ;  and  the  result  is  the 
Pantheon.  There  are  gods  from  hill  and  valley; 
nymphs,  dryads,  nereids,  deifications  of  nature  in 
every  form.  Men  worship  the  sun,  the  scarabaeus, 
great  Moloch  with  his  fiery  arms,  a  lizard,  a  crocodile, 
an  onion.    O  the  lamentable  depths  to  which  the  race 


144  AT    THE    THRESHOLD    OF    JOSEPH'S   HOUSE. 

has  fallen  in  its  desire  to  find  or  make  a  suitable 
symbol  of  the  invisible  God  ! 

We  search  for  him  in  philosophy  with  no  better 
result.  The  orientals  ended  their  researches  in  a 
deification  of  the  universe;  that  is,  All  things  are 
God.  The  Occidentals  arrived  at  Pantheism;  that 
is,  God  is  all  things.  These  ultimates  were  equally 
false  and  equally  true.  Thales  professed  to  have  dis- 
covered in  Water  the  potency  of  life.  Xenophanes 
proclaimed  that  nothing  could  be  more  divine  than 
Thought.  Plato  anticipated  the  investigations  of  mod- 
ern scientists  who  declare  that  the  Ultimate  is  all- 
pervading  Law  or  Force.  The  Stoics  were  agnostics, 
giving  up  the  quest  in  despair  ;  saying,  like  Fichte, 
"We  know  nothing,  not  even  that  we  know  nothing." 

Shall  we  then  evolve  God  from  our  inner  con- 
sciousness ?  The  utmost  that  a  man  can  do  in  this 
direction  is  to  project  himself  in  large  dimensions  on 
the  skies,  a  Brocken  of  the  Alps.  As  there  are  many 
men  of  many  minds  the  result  must  be  a  correspond- 
ing multiplicity  of  gods. 

How  then  can  he  reveal  himself  save  in  an  incar- 
nation ?  We  have  exhausted  our  resources.  The 
world  grows  weary  of  seeking  him.  The  fulness  of 
time  is  the  hour  of  despair.  He  will  now  reveal  him- 
self, as  declared  in  all  prophecy,  as  announced  in  the 
evangel, — "The  seed  of  the  woman  shall  bruise  the 
serpent's  head."  The  great  Father  desires  to  com- 
municate with  his  children.  Our  medium  of  com- 
munication is  language.  The  Word  of  the  Father 
will  now  be  articulated  for  his  children's  use.  The 
Word  shall  be  made  flesh  that  it  may  dwell  among  us. 

IV.   One  thing  remains  to  be  said  before  the  Magians 


AT    THE    THRESHOLD    OF    JOSEPH  S   HOUSE.  1 45 

pass  the  threshold  of  Joseph's  house;  they  must  have 
faith.  For  spiritual  things  are  spiritually  discerned. 
The  verities  of  the  invisible  world  are  beyond  our 
finger  tips.  Faith  is  "the  sixth  sense."  It  is  as 
really  a  sense  as  sight  or  hearing;  consequently  it  is 
as  unreasonable  for  a  man  to  expect  to  grasp  a  spirit- 
ual truth  without  the  exercise  of  faith,  as  it  would  be 
to  insist  on  hearing  a  thing  which  can  only  be  seen. 
One  sense  can  not  usurp  the  functions  of  another 
Hence  all  efforts  to  demonstrate  spiritual  facts  by  the 
so-called  scientific  method  are  futile. 

A  recent  periodical  contains  an  argument  on  "  Phy- 
sical Science  and  the  Doctrine  of  Immortality",  in 
which  the  writer  undertakes  to  demonstrate  by  the 
scientific  method  that  there  is  life  beyond  death. 
His  concluding  words  are  these:  "We  thus,  in  view 
of  the  advances  of  physical  science,  appear  to  have 
an  infinite  capacity  of  conceiving  of  impressions 
which  may  come  from  regions  far  transcending  the 
narrow  limits  of  this  earth;  and,  in  view  of  this  capa- 
city, can  we  believe  that  this  little  life  is  rounded 
with  a  sleep  from  which  there  is  no  awakening? "  The 
learned  disquisition  closes  with  a  mark  of  interro- 
gation !  But  how  could  it  be  otherwise  since  faith, 
and  faith  alone,  is  "the  evidence  of  things  not  seen  "? 

The  most  veritable  facts  in  human  life  and  experi- 
ence are  not  infrequently  beyond  the  necessity,  not 
to  say  beyond  the  possibility,  of  argument.  You 
will  thank  no  man  for  tearing  apart  the  leaves  and 
petals  of  a  rose  to  help  your  appreciation  of  it.  It 
would  be  a  useless  task  to  dissect  the  vocal  apparatus 
of  a  skylark;  let  me  see  it  soaring  through  the  ether 
and  hear  its   matchless  song!     I  watch  the  sun  go 


146  AT    THE   THRESHOLD    OF    JOSEPH'S   HOUSE. 

down  in  golden  glory;  and  a  discourse  on  the  refrac- 
tion of  light  just  then  would  be  an  impertinence.  O 
man  of  science,  be  still  and  let  me  drink  this  beauty 
in!  Or  who  shall  argue  as  to  a  mother's  love  ?  Who 
shall  estimate  it  by  a  mathematical  computation  of 
the  number  of  kisses  imprinted  on  an  infant's  cheek? 
So  with  this  doctrine  of  the  incarnation ;  you  cannot 
reduce  it  to  a  dull  scientific  fact.  Before  you  reach 
your  quod  erat  demonstrandum,  the  life  and  glory  have 
departed.  Let  this  suffice.  God  is  manifest  in  flesh. 
Let  me  bow  and  silently  behold  him.  There  is  a 
magnetism  in  the  presence  of  Christ,  a  light  in  his 
eyes,  a  warmth  in  his  hands,  a  life  out  of  his  death, 
that  forces  me  to  cry  like  the  centurion  beneath  his 
cross,  "Verily,  this  is  the  Son  of  God!" 

Not  that  the  incarnation  is  contra-rational.  It  is 
above,  but  not  against  reason.  It  lies  distinctly  in 
the  province  of  faith.  The  man  who  makes  the  asser- 
tion that  no  fact  is  to  be  received  which  cannot  be 
apprehended  by  the  senses,  is  in  deep  water;  for  we 
live  and  move  and  have  our  being  in  a  realm  of  mys- 
tery. I  will  agree  to  explain  to  you  the  dual  nature 
of  Christ  if  you  will  explain  to  me  the  dual  nature 
of  man.  I  am  flesh  and  spirit;  no  scientist  in  the 
world  can  elucidate  the  connection  and  co-operation 
of  these  two.  I  lift  my  hand.  What  does  that  mean? 
The  power  of  mind  over  matter.  My  reason  spoke 
to  my  will,  my  will  commanded  a  sinew;  and,  behold, 
it  was  done!  Thus  spirit  and  flesh  co-operate;  my 
dual  personality  is  a  fact;  no  philosopher  can  explain 
it;  none  can  deny  it. 

We  are  ready  now  to  lift  the  latch  and  pass,  with 
the  Magians,  into  Joseph's  house.     Here  is  the  mys- 


AT    THE    THRESHOLD    OF    JOSEPH  S   HOUSE.  147 

tery,  God  manifest  in  flesh.  Theanthropos !  This 
child  wrapped  in  swaddling  bands  is  the  very  God 
that  sat  upon  the  circle  of  the  universe  and  called 
into  being  things  that  were  not.  This  little  hand, 
pink  and  dimpled,  lying  on  its  mother's  breast,  is  the 
same  that  spun  the  new  created  worlds  into  space, 
that  rolls  the  rattling  thunders  through  the  skies. 
The  mother  soothes  him  with  a  lullaby,  "Sleep,  my 
baby,  sleep."  The  lips  that  murmur  in  response  are 
destined  to  speak  the  word  whereat,  in  the  process  of 
the  centuries,  the  thrones  of  all  the  Caesars  shall  fall 
in  irremediable  ruin  and  give  way  to  a  kingdom  of 
truth  and  righteousness  on  earth.  He  hath  upon  his 
vesture  and  his  thigh  a  name  written — a  name  to  be 
made  clearer  and  clearer  in  the  progress  of  events — 
"  King  of  Kings  and  Lord  of  Lords." 

The  wise  men  are  at  his  feet,  they  have  opened 
their  treasures,  and  are  laying  them  before  him ; 
myrrh  and  gold  and  frankincense.  Then,  falling  on 
their  knees,  they  worship  him.  "The  kings  of  the 
earth  do  bring  their  glory  and  honor  unto  him." 
Thus  all  knees  shall  bow  before  him ;  for  his  kingdom 
is  an  everlasting  kingdom,  and  his  dominion  is  for- 
ever and  ever. 

The  truth  revealed  to  us  thus  at  the  advent  season 
is  fundamental  to  Christianity.  It  bears  the  same 
relation  to  our  doctrinal  system  that  a  mainspring 
bears  to  the  watch.  Every  pin  and  wheel  and  lever 
is  important;  but  break  the  mainspring  and  the  watch 
stops.  Not  only  so,  this  doctrine  is  the  touchstone 
of  Christian  sincerity;  as  it  is  written,  "  Hereby  know 
we  the  Spirit  of  God  :  Every  spirit  that  confesseth  that 
Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  flesh  is  of  God;  and  every 


148  AT    THE    THRESHOLD    OF    JOSEPH'S   HOUSE. 

spirit  that  confesseth  not  that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in 
the  flesh  is  not  of  God"  (1  John  4,  2). 

Here  is  the  center  of  the  gospel  of  reconciliation. 
If  we  reject  the  divine  nativity,  the  cross  of  Calvary 
has  no  more  significance  than  any  other  cross.  The 
atonement  derives  its  significance  from  the  incarna- 
tion. The  shadow  of  the  cross  is  over  the  manger. 
Here  is  God's  meeting-place  with  man.  The  story  of 
the  prodigal  who  went  away  into  a  far  country  and 
squandered  his  substance  in  riotous  living,  is  the 
world's  parable.  He  determined  to  return;  but  as  he 
journeyed  homeward,  sleeping  under  hedges,  begging 
a  crust,  the  very  dogs  barked  at  him.  He  stood  at 
length  on  a  hilltop  in  sight  of  his  home.  He  could 
go  no  further,  but  paused  for  very  shame.  He  saw 
his  father  in  the  distance  standing  and  shading  his 
eyes ;  he  saw  him  grasp  his  staff  and  hasten  this  way 
— coming  as  God  came  in  the  incarnation — coming  to 
meet  his  wretched,  poverty-stricken  son.  And  now, 
behold  the  father  has  fallen  upon  his  neck,  and  is  kiss- 
ing him.  We  are  standing  at  the  manger.  God  and 
man  are  reconciled  here.  Let  us  receive  the  mystery  by 
faith,  the  truth  with  heart-felt  gratitude.  This  is  to 
come  home.  For  only  in  the  setting  out  of  God  to 
meet  a  wayward  and  helpless  world  is  there  a  possi- 
bility of  the  world's  return  to  God. 


THE  BREVITY  OF  LIFE 

"We  bring  our  years  to  an  end  as  a  tale  that  is  told." — {Revised  Version) 
Psalm  90,  9. 

What  is  Life  ?  I  went  to  the  dictionary  and  it  re- 
plied, "  Animal  existence."  I  asked  the  scientists — 
those  who  call  themselves  "biologists"  and  should 
therefore  certainly  know — and  Herbert  Spencer,  their 
illustrious  spokesman,  gave  this  translucent  answer: 
"Life  is  a  definite  combination  of  heterogeneous 
changes,  simultaneous  and  successive,  in  correspond- 
ence with  external  coexistences  and  sequences." 
Then  I  questioned  the  poets;  Shakespeare  likened 
it  to  a  drama: 

"  Out,  out,  brief  candle  ! 
Life's  but  a  walking  shadow;  a  poor  player 
That  struts  and  frets  his  hour  upon  the  stage 
And  then  is  heard  no  more." 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  from  his  cell  in  London  Tower, 
suggested  the  similitude  of  a  journey: 

"  Give  me  my  scallop-shell  of  quiet, 
My  staff  of  faith  to  lean  upon, 
My  scrip  of  joy — immortal  diet! — 
My  bottle  of  salvation, 
My  gown  of  glory,  hope's  true  gauge, 
And  thus  I  take  my  pilgrimage." 

But  quaint  George  Herbert  said  it  was  a  mere  ram- 
ble through  the  fields  on  a  summer's  day: 

(149) 


150  THE    BREVITY    OF    LIFE. 

"  I  made  a  posie  while  the  day  ran  by; 

Here  will  I  smell  my  remnant  out  and  tie 

My  life  within  this  band. 

But  Time  did  beckon  to  the  flowers  ;  and  they, 

By  noon,  most  cunningly  did  steal  away 

And  wither  in  my  hand." 
I  then  took  my  query  to  the  pagan  dreamers;  Pindar 
said,  "Life  is  the  shadow  of  a  dream."  Lucian 
likened  it  to  a  storm  at  sea,  where  men  like  bubbles 
rise,  reflect  the  glory  of  the  heavens  for  a  brief  mo- 
ment, then  vanish  forever.  Pliny's  metaphor  was  of 
a  larger  sort:  "It  is  a  river,"  he  said,  "taking  its 
rise  at  a  fountain  among  the  hills,  gathering  volume 
as  it  pursues  its  foaming,  downward  way,  anon  flow- 
ing calmly  through  the  green  valleys,  and  losing  itself 
at  last  in  the  bosom  of  a  boundless  sea." 

Then  I  opened  the  Book ;  and  God  said,  "Thy  days 
are  swifter  than  a  post;  as  the  eagle  that  hasteth 
to  the  prey  (Job  9,  25,  26).  They  are  as  a  shadow 
(Job  8,  9) ;  they  pass  away  as  the  foam  upon  the 
water  (Hosea  10,  7).  As  a  flower  of  the  field,  so 
thou  flourishest;  for  the  wind  passeth  over  thee  and 
thou  art  gone  (Ps.  103,  15,  16).  Thou  art  like  the  grass 
which  groweth  up.  In  the  morning  it  flourisheth 
and  groweth  up;  in  the  evening  it  is  cut  down  and 
withereth  (Psalm  90,  5,  6);  or  as  the  grass  upon  the 
housetops  which  withereth  before  it  groweth  up 
(Psalm  129,  6).  Thy  years  are  as  an  handbreadth 
(Psalm  39,  5) ;  thy  coming  and  going  are  as  the  re- 
moval of  a  shepherd's  tent  (Isaiah  38,  12).  Thy  life 
is  soon  over,  as  a  tale  that  is  told." 

The  story-teller  is  an  interesting  figure  in  the  Ori- 
ental life  of  the  olden  time.  He  served  not  merely 
as  a  purveyor  of  news  in  the  absence  of  books  and 


THE    BREVITY    OF    LIFE.  151 

newspapers,  but  also  as  the  narrator  of  legends  and 
traditions.  He  is  still  to  be  met  with  in  the  encamp- 
ments of  the  Arabian  Desert.  At  night  the  Bedouins 
gather  in  a  circle,  their  swarthy  faces  glistening  in 
the  torchlight,  their  forms  bent  forward  and  eyes 
attent  upon  the  story-teller,  whose  gestures,  calm  or 
violent,  are  adjusted  to  his  theme.  His  voice  is  tran- 
quil as  he  leads  his  hearers  to  the  wars;  monotonous 
along  the  weary  march;  rising  to  enthusiasm  at  the 
approach  of  the  enemy;  reaching  a  shrill  frenzy  amid 
the  clash  of  arms;  sinking  again  to  monotone  along 
the  homeward  trudge;  closing  with  a  song  beneath 
a  lady's  window.  The  tale  is  told;  the  listeners  have 
dispersed;  the  lights  are  out;  the  solemn  silence  of 
the  desert  is  over  all. 

So  is  life.  To-day,  to-morrow  and  the  day  after, 
and  then  the  end.  Why  not  ?  Would  you  have  it 
interminable,  like  a  Chinese  drama  ?  Here  is  the 
ordinance:  "The  days  of  our  years  are  threescore 
years  and  ten,  and  if  by  reason  of  strength  they  be 
fourscore  years,  yet  is  their  strength  labor  and  sor- 
row; for  it  is  soon  cut  off,  and  we  fly  away."  Our 
happiness  depends  in  large  measure  on  our  cheerful 
acceptance  of  that  decree.  A  recent  writer  defines 
life  as  "a  continual  struggle  with  death,  with  the 
certainty  of  being  conquered  at  last."  This  is  an 
unworthy  view.  There  are  considerations  which 
make  it  clear  to  thoughtful  people  that  our  proper 
attitude  is  not  one  of  stoical  indifference  or  stolid 
surrender,  but  rather  a  calm  and  grateful  acqui- 
escence in  the  limitation  of  life. 

First;  the  world  was  never  intended  to  be  the  abode  of 
immortal  man.     It  is  too  little,  and  the  tenant  is  too 


I52  THE    BREVITY    OF    LIFE. 

great.  A  man  is  made  in  God's  likeness;  his  nature 
is  overarched  by  infinity;  his  life  is  a  bundle  of  in- 
calculable potencies.  The  world  is  only  twenty-five 
thousand  miles  in  circumference,  and  the  meanest 
man  who  walks  upon  its  surface  can  belt  it  with  a 
thought  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye.  It  is  inconceiv- 
able that  God  should  have  made  such  a  creature  and 
quickened  him  with  a  spark  of  his  own  being,  to  the 
end  that  he  might  walk  on  terra  firma  with  leaden 
feet,  eat,  drink,  laugh,  die,  and  be  shut  up  finally  in 
a  leasehold  of  six  feet  of  earth. 

No!  Man  is  not  for  this  world;  and  this  world  is 
not  for  him.  The  disparity  is  too  great  between  the 
habitat  and  the  inhabitant.  When  Darius  offered 
Alexander  all  the  country  lying  west  of  the  Euphra- 
tes in  exchange  for  his  daughter's  hand,  his  favorite, 
Parmenio,  said:  "  If  I  were  thou,  I  would  accept  it." 
To  which  Alexander  replied:  "So  would  I,  were  I 
Parmenio."  If  the  narrow  view  which  prevails  in 
some  quarters  were  correct — that  man  is  the  remote 
descendant  of  a  mollusk,  that  he  is  merely  a  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds  of  bone  and  sinew  with  nothing  but 
phosphorus  in  his  brain-chamber,  that  he  is  "a 
stomach  with  its  appurtenances," — the  world  would, 
indeed,  be  quite  large  enough  for  him ;  but  for  im- 
mortal beings  it  is  simply  "an  inn  where  travelers 
bait,  then  post  away." 

The  second  reason  for  acquiescence  in  the  limitation 
of  life  is  that  its  machinery  wears  out.  In  the  Book  of 
Ecclesiastes  there  is  a  striking  picture  of  the  decay 
of  the  physical  powers.  In  old  age,  Koheleth  says, 
"  the  keepers  of  the  house  do  tremble  and  the  strong 
men  bow  themselves  [that  is,   the  limbs  are  palsied 


THE    BREVITY    OF    LIFE.  153 

and  bowed  with  infirmity]  ;  those  that  look  out  of  the 
windows  be  darkened  [poor  old  eyes!];  the  doors 
shall  be  shut  in  the  streets  when  the  sound  of  the 
grinding  is  low  [the  shrunken  lips  are  pursed];  he 
shall  rise  up  at  the  voice  of  the  bird  [no  need  of  chan- 
ticleer; the  twitter  of  a  sparrow  awakes  him  from  his 
light  slumbers];  and  all  the  daughters  of  music  are 
brought  low  [or,  as  Shakespeare  puts  it,  "His  big, 
manly  voice,  turning  again  toward  childish  treble, 
pipes  and  whistles  in  his  sound  "]  ;  he  is  afraid  of  that 
which  is  high  [a  long  stairway  is  via  dolorosa  to  him] ; 
fears  are  in  the  way,  the  almond  tree  blossoms  [his 
head  is  crowned  with  silver];  the  grasshopper  is  a 
burden,  desire  fails."     It  is  time  to  go! 

The  mental  faculties  also  yield  to  advancing  years. 
I  remember  well  an  aged  figure  that  used  to  shuffle 
in  slippers  along  the  Yale  campus.  Time  was  when 
the  voice  of  that  man  rang  like  a  clarion  and  the  mul- 
titude was  swayed  by  his  eloquence  as  by  magic. 
Alas,  he  had  become  a  "lean  and  slippered  panta- 
loon," babbling  and  maundering  as  he  tottered  on  his 
way.  This  is  ever  the  dread  of  those  who  feel  the 
burden  of  increasing  years.  They  would  not  linger 
until  memory  fails  and  the  wits  go  wool-gathering. 
Far  better  is  it  to  go  hence,  pausing  at  the  border- 
line of  earth  and  heaven  only  to  drink  at  the  fountain 
of  perpetual  youth  and  then  to  live  forever. 

But  ("sorrow's  crown  of  sorrows!")  the  heart  also 
wears  out.  At  life's  outset  it  puts  forth  tendrils, 
clasping  a  friend  here  and  another  there,  which  as 
years  advance  are  sundered  one  by  one.  "  I  feel  like 
one  who  treads  alone  some  banquet  hall  deserted." 
In  the  art  gallery  at  the  Columbian  Exposition  was  a 


154  THE    BREVITY    OF    LIFE. 

picture  by  Josef  Israel,  representing  an  old  man  sit- 
ting with  his  face  bowed  between  his  wrinkled  hands. 
On  the  bed  beside  him  lay  his  wife — dead.  The  light 
of  his  eyes  gone  out!  The  title  of  the  picture  was 
"Alone."  Who  would  care  to  linger  under  such  cir- 
cumstances ?  The  home  empty,  the  hearthstone  cold, 
the  heart  desolate.     Aye,  surely,  it  is  time  to  go. 

The  third  reason  for  acquiescence  in  the  divine  de- 
cree as  to  the  transitoriness  of  life,  is  that  a  place  is 
prepared  for  us  in  a  better  world.  So  Jesus  said:  "In 
my  Father's  house  are  many  mansions;  if  it  were  not 
so,  I  would  have  told  you ;  I  go  to  prepare  a  place 
for  you."  The  world  to  which  we  go  is  adjusted  to 
our  nature;  it  will  afford  ample  room  for  the  exercise 
of  our  divine  energies.  It  is  the  world  where  Imman- 
uel,  the  Ideal  Man,  holds  dominion.  Our  life  there 
will  be  free  from  the  limitations  of  time  and  space. 
"Now  are  we  the  sons  of  God,  and  it  doth  not  yet 
appear  what  we  shall  be." 

Our  days  here  are  school  days.  This  world  is  just 
the  place  for  preparation  for  a  better  one.  Its  pains 
and  disappointments,  its  sorrows  and  adversities 
have  in  them  the  possibilities  of  character.  The  real 
life  is  beyond.  In  Heidelberg  I  saw  once  a  group  of 
students  coming  down  the  street  in  merry  mood,  one 
of  whom  was  quite  gray  with  age.  I  was  told  that 
he  was  of  noble  blood  and  independent  fortune,  and 
that  he  had  been  more  than  forty  years  in  the  curric- 
ulum of  the  University  with  no  ambition,  seemingly, 
to  be  graduated  from  it.  So  is  the  man  who  has  no 
outlook  beyond  this  present  life. 

Death  is  "Commencement."  It  is  the  gateway 
into  the  larger  and  more  real  world  of  affairs.      It  is 


THE    BREVITY    OF    LIFE.  155 

promotion  to  higher  tasks  and  nobler  responsibilities. 
It  was  a  sad  day  for  the  Class  of  Sixty-seven  when, 
at  the  close  of  our  college  course  at  New  Haven,  we 
gathered  on  the  Campus  for  our  mutual  farewell. 
Our  friendship  had  been  cemented  by  four  years  of 
loving  comradeship,  and  the  tears  we  shed  that  day 
were  tears  of  genuine  sorrow.  Yet,  had  the  oppor- 
tunity been  given  to  remain  in  the  University,  there 
was  not  one  among  us  who  would  not  have  answered, 
"No!  Our  preparation  is  finished;  the  world  beck- 
ons; our  hearts  are  beating  fast  with  hope  and  high 
purpose  and  aspiration;  we  must  go!  " 

The  solemn  thought  that  we  emphasize  at  the 
threshold  of  the  New  Year  is  this:  Let  us  make  the 
utmost  of  our  opportunities  of  preparation  for  the  larger 
life.  Two  things  are  necessary :  one  is  to  get  rid  of 
sin;  and  this  can  only  be  done  by  a  simple  accept- 
ance of  Christ  who  died  to  redeem  us.  Until  we 
have  attended  to  that  matter,  all  "good  resolutions" 
are  futile.  When  Sir  Thomas  More  was  a  prisoner 
in  the  Tower  of  London  a  friend  suggested  that  his 
unkempt  beard  should  be  shorn.  His  answer  was, 
"There  is  a  controversy  between  the  king  and  myself 
as  to  my  head;  and  until  that  be  settled,  I  will  take 
no  trouble  with  it."  The  soul's  welfare  is  the  prime 
consideration;  pending  its  reconciliation  with  an 
offended  God,  all  other  matters  are  of  minor  conse- 
quence. An  acceptance  of  Christ  is  the  final  deter- 
mination of  destiny;  it  should  therefore  be  attended 
to  this  day. 

Having  thus  gotten  rid  of  sin,  the  total  remainder 
of  preparation  is  to  get  used  to  service.  By  our  ap- 
prenticeship here  in  the  kingdom  of  Christ  we  should 


156  THE   BREVITY   OF   LIFE. 

be  fitting  ourselves  for  the  larger  duties  and  respon- 
sibilities that  await  us.  He  who  squanders  his 
study  hours  is  naturally  affrighted  by  the  thought 
of  the  "  examination  "  incident  to  graduation.  Let 
us  be  scrupulous  in  the  discharge  of  every  duty, 
knowing  well  the  eternal  issues  that  flow  from  faith- 
fulness here  and  now.  "Do  ye  nexte  thynge. " 
Follow  close  in  the  footsteps  of  Jesus,  of  whom  it  is 
written,  "  He  went  about  doing  good."  A  pastor  in 
this  city  tells  of  a  humble  parishioner,  a  hunchback 
— confined  to  her  room,  but  ever  zealous  of  good 
works — who  placed  in  his  hands  these  lines  as  ex- 
pressing the  purpose  of  her  life: 

"I  must  be  doing  something  for  the  weary  and  the  sad, 
I  must  be  giving  forth  the  love  that  makes  my  heart  so  glad; 
For  God  so  fills  my  spirit  with  a  joy  that  passeth  show, 
I  fain  would  do  his  bidding  in  the  only  way  I  know. 

"So  to  suffering  and  to  sorrow  I  shall  always  give  my  heart, 
And  pray  to  God  that  every  day  I  may  some  good  impart, 
Some  little  act  of  kindness,  some  simple  word  of  cheer, 
To  make  some  drooping  heart  rejoice   or  stay  some  falling 
tear. 

"And  when  I've  crossed  the  river  and  passed  its  waters  o'er, 
And  feel  that  some  will  miss  me  upon  the  other  shore, 
My  grateful  spirit  ever  shall  bless  the  Lord  divine, 
Who  crowns  the  humblest  efforts  of  a  human  love  like  mine." 

The  year  is  before  us.  It  is  terra  incognita,  an  un- 
known country  of  duties  and  dangers.  One  of  the 
customary  admonitions  at  the  borderline  is,  "This 
year  we  may  die."  It  is  far  more  pertinent  to  say, 
"  This  year  we  must  live."  For  living  is  more  solemn 
than  dying.  It  means  responsibility,  day  by  day, 
hour  by  hour.     Patience  is  heroism,  faithfulness  is 


THE    BREVITY    OF    LIFE.  157 

success,  steadfastness  is  ultimate  triumph.  These  are 
the  virtues  that  shine  brightest  in  the  divine  inven- 
tory. On  Riverside  Drive,  just  under  the  shadow 
of  the  Grant  Monument,  is  a  solitary  gravestone  in- 
scribed, "  To  an  Amiable  Child."  It  was  over  a  cen- 
tury ago  that  this  child,  who,  "the  gates  of  heaven 
being  left  ajar,  had  wandered  forth  with  dreamy 
eyes,"  lived  sweetly,  unselfishly,  amiably  for  a  little 
while  and  then  returned  to  God.  But  who  shall  esti- 
mate the  value  of  that  little  life  ?  Or  who  shall  say 
that  in  the  final  reckoning  the  modest  gravestone 
may  not  overshadow  the  monument  of  the  great  com- 
mander? For  it  is  not  success  but  faithfulness  that 
tells,  after  all. 

And  now  I  wish  you  a  happy  New  Year;  a  year  of 
God's  peace  in  the  consciousness  of  duty  done;  a 
year  of  simple  faith  in  the  divine  goodness  and  of 
clear  outlook  toward  the  heavenly  hills;  a  year  of 
sweet  communion  with  Jesus  and  close  following  in 
his  steps;  a  year  like  that  pleasant  walk  to  Emmaus 
of  which  the  disciples  said,  "  Did  not  our  hearts  burn 
within  us  while  he  talked  with  us  by  the  way  ?" 


THE  DELAYS  OF  PROVIDENCE 

"The  Lord  is  not  slack  concerning  his  promise,  as  some  men  count  slack- 
ness ;  but  is  longsuffering  to  us-ward,  not  willing  that  any  should  perish,  but 
that  all  should  come  to  repentance." — 2  Peter,  3,  9. 

All  men  believe  in  Providence.  The  world  is  obvi- 
ously under  law;  and  reason  suggests  that  behind  the 
law  is  a  Lawgiver.  It  is  not  too  much  to  expect  of 
this  Lawgiver  a  just  distribution  of  rewards  and 
punishments  among  men.  This  finds  expression  in 
the  Hindu  doctrine  of  Karma,  or  the  Law  of  Conse- 
quences. The  Scriptural  statement  is,  "  Whatsoever 
a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap;  he  that  sow- 
eth  to  the  flesh,  shall  of  the  flesh  reap  corruption ; 
and  he  that  soweth  to  the  Spirit,  shall  of  the  Spirit 
reap  everlasting  life." 

But  there  appears  to  be  something  wrong  in  the 
administration  of  this  law.  We  can  discover  no 
exact  or  immediate  quid  pro  quo.  The  time  between 
the  seed-sowing  and  the  harvest  is  sometimes  beyond 
reason.  God  warns,  entreats,  admonishes,  condemns 
and — suspends  sentence.  The  execution  hangs  fire. 
The  wicked  persist  in  their  wickedness  and  laugh  at 
all  omens  of  calamity.  They  live  prosperously  and 
"  there  are  no  bands  in  their  death." 

There  were  the  antediluvians,  whom  God  threatened 
to  destroy  because  he  "  saw  that  the  wickedness  of 
man  was  great  in  the  earth  and  that  every  im- 
agination of  the  thoughts  of  his  heart  was  only 
evil  continually."     Then  what?     The  ark  was  one 

ds8) 


THE    DELAYS   OF    PROVIDENCE.  159 

hundred  and  twenty  years  in  building!  Meanwhile 
the  world  went  on  with  its  carnival  of  crime.  Those 
who  saw  the  patriarch  building  his  ship  at  a  great 
distance  from  any  navigable  water  and  heard  his 
prophecies  of  the  coming  deluge,  looked  at  each  other 
sagely  and  said, ' '  Old  Noah  has  gone  into  his  dotage ! " 

And  there  were  the  Ninevites,  of  whom  God  said, 
"Their wickedness  is  come  up  before  me."  He  sent 
Jonah  to  cry  up  and  down  through  the  city,  "Yet 
forty  days,  yet  forty  days  and  Nineveh  shall  be  over- 
thrown!" And  when  the  forty  days  were  over,  the 
people  having  put  on  sackcloth  in  token  of  repent- 
ance, the  city  was  spared;  as  it  is  written,  "God 
repented  of  the  evil  that  he  had  said  he  would  do 
unto  them,  and  he  did  it  not."  Was  it  strange  that 
Jonah,  whose  veracity  was  thus  compromised,  should 
sulk  in  the  shadow  of  his  gourd,  saying,  "O  Lord, 
I  knew  that  thou  wouldst  repent  thee  of  the  evil ; 
wherefore,  let  me  die,  I  entreat  thee!  " 

And  there  were  the  Jews,  who  rejected  the  well- 
beloved  Son  of  God.  They  crowned  him  with  thorns, 
robed  him  in  the  cast-off  purple  of  a  petty  magistrate, 
mocked  and  smote  him,  spat  in  his  face  and  crucified 
him,  saying:  "His  blood  be  on  us  and  on  our  chil- 
dren! "  Yet  the  heavens  did  not  rain  fire  upon  them, 
and  their  children  are  the  chancelors  of  the  world's 
exchequer  to-day. 

We  need  not  go  so  far,  however,  to  observe  these 
delays  of  recompense.  Our  streets  are  full  of  sinners 
who  persistently  violate  the  divine  law,  mock  at  the 
admonitions  of  Holy  Writ  and  tread  on  the  precious 
blood  of  the  covenant.  We  ourselves  are  monu- 
ments of  the  divine  procrastination;  as  it  is  written, 


160  THE  DELAYS  OF  PROVIDENCE. 

"He  hath  not  dealt  with  us  after  our  sins,  nor  re- 
warded us  according  to  our  iniquities."  If  he  had, 
indeed,  we  should  not  be  worshipers  in  his  sanctuary 
to-day,  but  prisoners  of  the  outer  darkness  enduring 
the  penalty  of  persistent  sin. 

How  shall  we  account  for  these  delays  ?  Why  is 
"the  long  shrift"  given  to  those  who  are  said  to  be 
"  condemned  already  ?  "  The  law  is  clear:  "The  soul 
that  sinneth  it  shall  die."  Why  do  not  the  lifted 
thunders  fall  ?  "God  is  slack  "  reply  the  thought- 
less; "  his  warnings  are  intended  merely  to  frighten 
us;  he  does  not  really  regard  our  sins,  or  intend  to 
punish  them."  But  Peter  gives  a  different  answer. 
"God  is  not  slack,"  he  says,  "as  some  men  count 
slackness."  And  Peter  should  know.  If  ever  a  man 
had  tempted  Providence,  it  was  he.  He  had  been  a 
rough  fisherman,  of  an  inflammable  temper  and  not 
above  profanity  on  occasion.  Yet  he  was  spared  to 
join  the  company  of  Christ's  disciples.  And  in  that 
goodly  fellowship  he  had  thrice  denied  his  Lord;  yet 
Jesus  gave  no  heed  except  to  "turn  and  look  upon 
him."  That  glance  had  in  it  all  the  potency  of 
heaven's  lightnings;  but  for  Peter  it  was  fraught  with 
the  utmost  tenderness.  He  must  have  known  how  it 
was  written,  "If  ye  seek  me,  I  will  be  found  of  you; 
but  if  ye  forsake  me,  I  will  cast  you  off  forever." 
Yet  he  forsook  his  Lord  and  was  not  cast  off.  And 
this  is  the  man  who  says,  "  God  is  not  slack  concern- 
ing his  promises,  as  some  men  count  slackness." 

But  if  this  unpunctual  administration  of  affairs  be 
not  "slackness,"  what  is  it? 

First :  It  is  not  due  to  Ig?iorance  on  the  part  of  God. 
He  is  fully  cognizant  of  our  sins.    It  is  said  that  when 


THE    DELAYS    OF    PROVIDENCE.  l6l 

the  Romans  saw  the  eyes  of  their  great  statue  of  Jupi- 
ter covered  with  spiders'  webs,  they  gave  themselves 
up  to  an  abandon  of  vice,  saying,"  He  doth  not  see, 
neither  doth  he  regard  us. "  But  God's  eyes  are  never 
dimmed.  He  neither  slumbereth  nor  sleepeth.  O  the 
eyes  of  the  Lord!  "  They  run  to  and  fro  through  all 
the  earth  to  behold  the  evil  and  the  good. "  "  All  things 
are  naked  and  opened  unto  the  eyes  of  him  with  whom 
we  have  to  do."  He  needs  no  detectives  to  spy  upon 
us.  He  needs  no  bloodhounds  to  trace  his  fugitives. 
If  we  take  the  wings  of  the  morning  and  fly  unto  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  sea,  even  there  shall  his  hand 
hold  us.  He  hears  our  faintest  whisper  in  the  solitudes. 
He  knows  the  secret  imaginations  of  our  hearts.  No, 
it  is  not  because  he  is  unaware  of  our  sins  that  he 
fails  to  visit  immediate  retribution  upon  us. 

Nor,  secondly,  is  it  because  of  Indifference  o?i  his  part. 
It  cannot  be  said  of  him,  "He  does  not  care." 
The  School  of  Epicurus  said,  "The  God  we  worship 
is  a  large  god — too  busy  with  the  affairs  of  universal 
government  to  heed  our  peccadillos.  He  presides 
over  the  splendid  feasts  of  Olympus.  He  wheels  the 
worlds  around  their  orbits.  We  are  but  little  people  ; 
what  cares  he  for  us  ?  "  Our  God,  dear  friends,  is 
so  great  that  he  gives  heed  to  infinitesimals.  He 
cannot  be  in  different  to  our  ill-doing.  He  knows 
what  sin  has  done;  how  it  has  ruined  souls,  desolated 
homes,  overthrown  governments,  depopulated  the 
world  and  peopled  hell.  He  is  a  jealous  God.  His 
wrath  is  revealed  from  heaven  against  all  ungodliness 
and  unrighteousness  of  men  (Rom.  i,  18).  He  is 
"angry  with  the  wicked  every  day." 

Nor,  thirdly,  is  it  because  he  is  Impotent  to  punish  sin. 


1 62  THE    DELAYS    OF    PROVIDENCE. 

His  name  is  the  Almighty.  It  is  as  easy  for  him  to 
destroy  a  world  as  for  me  to  crush  an  insect.  Not 
long  ago  a  well  known  infidel  took  occasion,  in  a 
spirit  of  bravado,  to  blaspheme  publicly  in  this  city, 
challenging  God  to  strike  him  dead.  Why  did  not 
God  take  him  at  his  word  and  destroy  him  on  the 
instant  ?  Was  it  because  he  could  not  ?  No,  in- 
deed ;  but  rather  because  a  man  spared  is  a  more 
impressive  proof  of  the  divine  greatness  than  a  man 
slain.  A  like  thing  happened  on  a  larger  scale  when 
Korah  and  his  followers  offered  incense  of  blas- 
phemy in  the  Jewish  camp.  And  the  Lord  said  to 
Moses,  "Speak  unto  the  congregation  that  they  de- 
part from  the  tents  of  these  wicked  men.  Then 
Korah  and  his  followers  stood  by  themselves  swing- 
ing their  impious  censers,  and,  behold,  the  earth 
opened  her  mouth  "and  they  and  all  that  apper- 
tained to  them  went  down  alive  into  the  pit."  Thus 
has  the  Lord  on  occasion  demonstrated  once  and 
again  his  power  to  inflict  an  instant  penalty  on  sin. 

Why  then  are  the  unrighteous  spared?  The  case 
stands  thus:  They  have  offended  God,  his  warning 
has  been  spoken;  instant  retribution  would  be  obvi- 
ously just;  God  knows  their  guilt,  is  deeply  grieved; 
is  able  to  punish  them ;  yet  they  live.  Let  us  turn  to 
Peter's  observations  respecting  this  matter: 

I.  He  says  the  delays  of  Providence  are  to  be  ac- 
counted for  by  the  fact  that  God  "  is  longsuffering  to 
us-ward."  The  name  by  which  he  revealed  himself 
to  Moses  hiding  in  the  cleft  of  the  rock,  was  this:  "I 
am  the  Lord.  I  will  be  gracious  to  whom  I  will  be 
gracious,  and  will  show  mercy  on  whom  I  will  show 
mercy."     And  the  name  by  which  he  revealed  him- 


THE    DELAYS   OF    PROVIDENCE.  163 

self  from  the  cloud  on  Mount  Sinai  was  this:  "  The 
Lord,  the  Lord  God,  merciful  and  gracious,  longsuf- 
fering  and  abundant  in  goodness  and  truth;  keeping 
mercy  for  thousands,  forgiving  iniquity  and  trans- 
gression and  sin,  and  that  will  by  no  means  clear  the' 
guilty."  His  word  is  Yea  and  Amen;  but  he  can 
afford  to  wait:  since,  as  Peter  says,  "  one  day  is  with 
him  as  a  thousand  years,  and  a  thousand  years  as  one 
day."  He  never  "  loses  his  temper"  as  men  do.  He 
experiences  no  caprice,  no  paroxysms  of  wrath.  He  is 
slow  to  anger  because  "  the  eternal  years  are  his." 

If  we  could  stand  beside  his  throne  for  a  moment, 
and  see  with  his  eyes  the  sin  and  shame,  the  vice  and 
uncleanness,  the  rebellion  and  blasphemy — if  all  the 
roofs  were  lifted  and  all  men's  hearts  made  naked 
and  open  before  us  as  before  him — we  should  cry, 
"  Burn  up  the  world,  O  Lord !  Consume  these  rebels 
who  have  so  defied  thy  mercy  and  offended  against 
thy  holy  law!  "  But  this  is  because  our  ways  are  not 
as  his  ways,  nor  our  thoughts  as  his  thoughts.  He 
spares  until  the  resources  of  his  mercy  are  exhausted. 
He  is  the  God  of  an  infinite  patience. 

II.  "He  is  not  willing  that  any  should  perish."  He 
knows  the  meaning  of  that  word  "  perish."  He  will 
not  that  any  shall  go  forth  into  the  region  of  eternal 
shame  and  remorse  "  where  their  worm  dieth  not  and 
the  fire  is  not  quenched."  "  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord 
God,  I  have  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wicked; 
but  that  the  wicked  turn  from  his  way  and  live." 
Could  anything  be  more  pathetic  than  his  lament 
over  Ephraim  ?  "  O  Ephraim,  how  can  I  give  thee  up  ? 
How  can  I  make  thee  as  Admah  and  Zeboim?  "  It  is 
like  the  wail  of  a  mother  at  the  death-bed  of  her  child. 


164  THE    DELAYS    OF    PROVIDENCE. 

If  further  proof  of  God's  unwillingness  that  any 
should  perish  be  required,  we  shall  find  it  in  his 
exceeding  great  and  precious  promises:  "Him  that 
cometh  unto  me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out"; — "The 
Spirit  and  the  Bride  say,  Come;  and  let  him  that 
heareth  say,  Come;  and  let  him  that  is  athirst  come; 
and  whosoever  will,  let  him  take  the  water  of  life 
freely"; — "To-day  if  ye  will  hear  his  voice,  harden 
not  your  hearts"; — "Turn  ye,  turn  ye;  for  why  will 
ye  die  ? " 

III.  He  desires  "that  all  should  come  to  repentance" 
Here  is  the  kernel  of  the  whole  matter.  This  is  the 
objective  point  of  the  divine  longsuffering.  It  is  God's 
purpose  that  every  man  shall  have  opportunity  to 
repent  up  to  the  full  limit  of  his  own  immeasurable 
love;  so  that  as  many  as  possible  may  turn  from  their 
unrighteousness,  accept  the  generous  terms  of  grace 
and  enter  into  life. 

Once  on  a  time  a  man  made  himself  notorious  as  a 
highwayman  along  the  "  Bloody  Way"  from  Jerusa- 
lem down  to  Jericho.  God  saw  his  deeds  of  violence, 
his  murders  and  robberies,  yet  spared  him.  The 
civil  authorities,  however,  were  not  so  "slack";  they 
pursued  the  bandit,  arrested  him,  placed  him  on  trial 
and  sentenced  him  to  death.  It  was  during  his  execu- 
tion that  the  reason  of  the  divine  longsuffering  was 
made  manifest;  for  in  the  very  article  of  death  he 
repented,  saying,  "Lord,  remember  me!" 

A  wilful  girl  forsook  her  home  once  on  a  time  and 
abandoned  herself  to  a  shameless  life.  She  fell  lower 
and  lower  until  she  became  a  common  drab;  so  that 
society  cast  her  out  and  pure  women  withdrew  their 
garments  as  she  passed.     But   God   had  not  aban- 


THE    DELAYS    OF    PROVIDENCE.  1 65 

doned  hope  of  her.  She  heard  a  voice  one  day  in 
the  street  of  Capernaum,  saying,  "Come  unto  me  all 
ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give 
you  rest."  Her  sins  had  palled  upon  her;  she  was 
"weary"  ot  her  vicious  pleasure;  she  was  "heavy 
laden"  with  fear  of  retribution.  She  sought  the 
presence  of  the  Merciful  One,  anointed  his  feet  with 
spikenard  and  consecrated  her  life  to  him. 

A  lad,  reared  in  the  rabbinical  schools  of  an  Asian 
city,  became  possessed  of  an  evil  spirit  of  fanaticism. 
He  went  up  to  Jerusalem,  joined  the  straitest  sect  of 
the  Pharisees  and  ultimately  became  a  member  of  the 
Sanhedrin.  He  was  appointed  an  inquisitor  to  search 
out  the  followers  of  Jesus  and  hale  them  to  judgment 
and  death.  His  heart  was  wholly  in  his  work.  His 
guilt  was  none  the  less  heinous  because  he  thought 
he  was  doing  his  duty;  yet  the  Lord  spared  him  in 
prospect  of  the  time  when  he  should  see,  in  a  sudden 
burst  of  light  from  heaven,  the  divine  beauty  in  the 
face  of  Christ,  and  penitently  cry,  "Lord,  what  wilt 
thou  have  me  to  do  ?  " 

What,  now,  are  the  practical  conclusions  ?  To  begin 
with,  "//  is  a  fearful  thing  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
living  God."  The  wrath  of  an  irascible  man  is  not  so 
much  to  be  dreaded  as  the  calm  indignation  of  one 
who,  naturally  patient,  has  been  provoked  too  long. 
What  then  must  be  the  anger  of  the  patient  God  ? 
"  When  he  shall  whet  his  sword,  who  shall  stand  be- 
fore him?"  His  mills  grind  slow,  but  they  grind 
woe.  It  is  written  that  the  incorrigibly  wicked  shall, 
in  the  judgment,  call  upon  the  hills  to  fall  upon  them 
and  hide  them  from  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb.  What 
a  paradox  is  there — "the  wrath  of  the  Lamb i  " 


166  THE    DELAYS   OF    PROVIDENCE. 

And  again,  There  can  be  no  room  for  complaint  on  the 
part  of  those  who  shall  ultimately  incur  the  pe7ialty  of  sin. 
God's  love  shall  be  vindicated  in  their  doom.  The 
warden  of  one  of  our  penitentiaries  relates  that  on 
the  cell  of  a  prisoner,  who  had  been  executed  for 
murder,  he  found  written  everywhere  along  the  walls, 
"God  is  love."  It  is  not  easy  to  surmise  what 
prompted  that  inscription;  but  this  I  know,  the 
regions  of  eternal  night  must  be  filled  with  irrepress- 
ible tributes  to  the  goodness  of  God.  The  lost  know 
the  meaning  of  God's  long  delays.  They  know  their 
doom  is  just,  and  confess  that  the  scepter  of  the  Lord 
is  a  right  scepter. 

Finally,  what  shall  be  said  of  the  inexcusable  folly  of 
those  who  persist  in  going  down  to  death  ?  Why  should 
any  man  be  lost  ?  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave 
his  only-begotten  Son  to  save  it.  The  shadow  of  the 
cross  is  over  us.  The  Spirit  strives  with  all.  The 
hands  of  Christ  are  stretched  out  still. 

It  is  said  that  when  Alexander  besieged  a  city  he 
kindled  a  beacon  on  a  neighboring  hilltop  and  an- 
nounced that  all  who  surrendered  while  it  burned, 
should  be  spared.  The  beacon  of  God's  mercy  has 
been  burning  long  for  some  of  us.  We  have  heard 
the  invitations  of  the  heavenly  mercy,  lo!  these  many 
years.  Shall  the  tokens  of  the  divine  longsuffering 
to  us-ward  be  vain  as  the  roses  that  dropped  upon 
Faust  from  heaven,  turning  to  fiery  coals  as  they  fell  ? 
Is  it  not  time  to  make  an  end  of  our  folly  ?  I  beseech 
you,  beloved,  by  the  mercies  of  God,  that  ye  be  recon- 
ciled unto  him.  Now  is  the  accepted  time;  and  to-day 
is  the  day  of  salvation. 


WHAT  IS  THAT  TO  THEE? 

"  Peter  saith  to  Jesus,  Lord,  and  what  shall  this  man  do  ?  Jesus  saith  unto 
him,  If  I  will  that  he  tarry  till  I  come,  what  is  that  to  thee  ?  follow  thou  me."— 
John  21 :  21,  22. 

In  the  dusk  of  the  morning  a  company  of  fisher- 
men were  cruising  in  their  little  boat  along  the  mar- 
gin of  Lake  Gennesaret,  now  and  then  letting  down 
their  nets.  A  solitary  figure  was  seen  walking  along 
the  shore.  The  men  whispered  to  each  other,  "  It  is 
the  Lord."  And  Peter  could  not  wait;  he  girt  his 
fisher's  coat  about  him,  leaped  in  and  swam  ashore. 
The  others  landed  presently  from  the  boat;  and  all 
gathered  about  their  Lord. 

It  was  a  picturesque  scene:  The  sun  was  rising 
over  the  trans-jordanic  heights,  tinging  the  snowy 
crown  of  Hermon  with  a  red  glory,  while  a  golden 
mist  rose  slowly  from  the  western  sea.  In  the  midst 
of  the  group  stood  Jesus,  and  nearby  Peter,  in 
dripping  garments,  his  face  now  fallen  on  his  breast. 
He  had  forgotten  for  the  moment,  that  when  he  last 
saw  Jesus  he  had  thrice  denied  him :  now  the  bitter 
recollection  overwhelms  him.  Thrice  the  Master 
asks,  "Simon,  son  of  Jonas,  lovest  thou  me?" 
Never  was  heedless  lad  more  embarrassed  by  stern 
catechist  than  this  bold  fisherman:  yet  with  down- 
cast eyes  he  answers    thrice,    "Thou    knowest  that 

(167) 


1 68  WHAT    IS    THAT    TO    THEE? 

I  love  thee."  And  with  vast  compassion  his  Lord 
reopens  to  him  the  three  doors  of  the  apostolic  office, 
saying  "Feed  my  sheep."  Then  an  announcement 
of  grave  import  falls  from  his  lips:  "When  thou 
art  old,  thou  shalt  stretch  forth  thy  hands  and 
another  shall  gird  thee  and  carry  thee  whither  thou 
wouldest  not."  It  was  a  prophecy  of  martyrdom. 
Did  Peter  blanche  or  tremble  when  the  cold  shadow 
fell  over  him?  Nay;  this  was  what  he  had  longed 
for:  to  be  baptized  with  his  Lord's  crimson  baptism, 
to  drink  of  his  bitter  cup.  Then  Jesus  added,  "  Fol- 
low me!  "  He  had  said  it  twice  before  but  never 
under  such  circumstances,  nor  with  such  grave  sig- 
nificance. It  was  as  if  he  said,  "Come,  Peter;  the 
servant  is  not  greater  than  his  Lord.  Enter  into  the 
fellowship  of  my  shame  and  agony.  On  to  the 
cross!     On  to  the  martyr's  crown!  " 

At  this  point  occurred  the  discordant  note.  Peter, 
turning  about  and  seeing  John,  was  moved  to  in- 
quire, "  Lord,  and  what  shall  this  man  do?  "  John 
had  been  his  fellow  fisherman,  his  comrade  in  the 
Mount  of  Transfiguration,  his  familiar  friend  in  the 
retinue  of  Jesus.  It  was  not  strange,  therefore,  that 
in  the  unveiling  of  his  own  tragic  death,  he  should 
inquire,  "How  about  this  man?"  And  Jesus  said, 
'  iIf  I  will  that  he  tarry  till  I  come,  what  is  that  to  thee  ? 
Follow  thou  ?ne  I " 

Was  this  to  reprove  his  curiosity?  I  think  not. 
There  are,  indeed,  state  secrets  into  which  we  must 
not  pry:  but  curiosity  was  not  a  Petrine  fault.  Nor 
yet  did  Jesus  intend  to  rebuke  the  jealousy  of  his 
disciple,  as  some  suppose.  For  Peter  was  too  large 
a  man  to  look  on  John,  "the  beloved  disciple,"  with 


WHAT    IS   THAT    TO    THEE  ?  169 

green  eyes.  I  can  discern  in  the  Master's  words  no 
rebuke  at  all,  but  rather  the  announcement  of  a  great 
truth  ;  to  wit,  The  solitariness  of  an  earnest  life. 

A  man  comes  into  the  world  by  himself;  alone  he 
bears  his  burdens,  endures  his  sorrows,  meets  his 
obligations;  and  alone  he  must  stand  in  judgment 
before  God.  It  behooves  him,  therefore,  to  know 
his  personal  responsibility.  That  was  a  great  dis- 
covery of  Descartes,  when,  walking  by  the  bank  of 
the  Danube  on  a  November  night,  he  saw  himself 
endowed  with  sovereign  will  and  conscience  as  against 
all  fashion  and  authority,  and  was  moved  to  cry 
aloud,  "Ich  bin  ich!  "  It  is  a  momentous  hour  when 
that  discovery  dawns  on  any  soul.  It  lifts  us  to  the 
solitary  dignity  of  Manhood  created  after  the  image 
of  God. 

I.  As  to  our  personal  Responsibility  in  the  formulation 
of  a  Creed.  This  is  of  supreme  importance;  for  a 
man's  life  and  character  are  founded  on  his  faith. 
It  has  been  observed  that  when  our  forefathers  were 
casting  about  for  a  suitable  day  to  be  observed  as 
a  national  anniversary,  they  did  not  select  that 
whereon  the  Thirteen  Colonies  bound  themselves 
together  by  formal  enactment,  but  rather  the  day 
wherein  the  great  principles  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty  were  announced  in  the  historic  Declaration. 
This  was  strictly  philosophic,  since  government  rests 
not  on  formal  enactments  nor  on  solemn  covenants, 
but  rather  on  eternal,  rudimental  principles.  So  a 
man's  creed  or  code  of  religious  tenets  is  the  true 
foundation  of  his  life  and  character.  Thus  it  is 
written,  "Asa  man  thinketh  in  his  heart,  so  is  he." 

How,  then,  shall  we  formulate  our  creed  ?     By  ref- 


170  WHAT    IS   THAT    TO    THEE? 

erence  to  tradition  ?  Due  weight  must  indeed  be 
given  to  the  results  of  historic  controversies,  to  the 
calm  deliverances  of  councils  and  the  wise  opinions 
of  the  fathers.  But  these  must  not  be  permitted  to 
prevent  the  exercise  of  individual  judgment,  or  blind 
the  eyes  to  progressive  revelation.  There  is  a  very 
solemn  and  inspiring  truth  in  what  John  Robinson 
said  to  the  Pilgrims  embarking  at  Delft-haven,  "Re- 
member that  new  light  shall  ever  spring  forth  from 
the  word  of  God." 

Are  we,  then,  to  derive  our  religious  beliefs  from 
current  opinion  ?  It  is  greatly  to  be  feared  that  many 
are  content  to  seek  no  further.  The  press  is  the  pur- 
veyor of  passing  thought;  and  there  are  those  who 
imagine  that,  in  adopting  its  suggestions,  they  are 
keeping  abreast  of  the  age.  But  no  ready-made  or 
custom-made  opinion  can  fit  a  self-made  man.  A 
passing  thought  is  poor  stuff  to  place  in  the  founda- 
tion of  an  enduring  life. 

We  are  Christians.  That  means,  among  other 
things,  that  we  have  taken  Christ  to  be  our  prophet, 
or  instructor  in  spiritual  things.  He  and  his  Book  are 
ours;  what  more  would  we  have  ?  His  word  is  ulti- 
mate to  those  who  follow  him.  This  matter  of  relig- 
ious belief  is  between  himself  and  us.  It  is  of  com- 
paratively little  consequence  what  the  fathers  said  or 
what  our  contemporaries  are  saying.  On  one  occa- 
sion Jesus  asked  of  his  disciples,  "What  do  the  peo- 
ple say  of  me?"  And  when  they  replied,  "Some 
say  one  thing  and  some  another,"  he  added  signifi- 
cantly, "But  what  say  ye?"  At  that  point  Peter 
stood  forth  and  witnessed  his  good  confession  :  "  Thou 
art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God!  "     It  was 


WHAT    IS    THAT    TO    THEE?  1 7 1 

for  that  very  proposition  that  Athanasius  in  the 
third  century  faced  the  Arians,  with  the  memorable 
words,  "Athanasius  contra  mundum."  He  was  opposed 
by  scholars,  threatened  by  Constantine,  displaced 
from  his  episcopal  office,  thrice  exiled ;  yet  he  stood 
for  his  belief  and  was  willing  to  stand  alone  against 
the  world.  This  is  the  position  for  any  self-respecting 
follower  of  Christ.  It  is  himself  against  all  authority 
and  current  opinion,  if  need  be.  His  responsibility 
is  to  Christ  alone,  who  said,  "What  is  that  to  thee  ? 
Follow  thou  me." 

II.  So,  also,  as  to  Rules  of  Conduct.  The  path  of  duty 
is  not  a  plain  thoroughfare  but  a  road  with  many 
divergent  paths ;  so  that  we  are  ever  at  the  cross-roads 
asking,  "Which  way?"  I  set  out  afoot  in  London  once 
for  Spurgeon's  Tabernacle.  As  I  supposed  myself  to 
be  nearing  the  place,  I  ventured  to  ask  a  passer-by, 
"  Which  way  to  the  Tabernacle?  "  He  replied,  "Fol- 
low the  crowd."  A  little  further  on  I  met  with  the 
same  advice,  "Follow  the  crowd."  In  due  time  I 
reached  my  destination.  But  in  questions  of  casu- 
istry it  is  not  safe  to  follow  the  crowd.  "  Thou  shalt 
not  follow  a  multitude  to  do  evil." 

One  of  the  questions  by  which  we  are,  unfortu- 
nately, apt  to  determine  our  personal  duty  is,  "What 
will  the  world  say  ?"  Duty  is  distinctly  a  personal 
affair;  conscience  must  determine  it.  When  Frank- 
lin was  at  the  court  of  France  he  found  that  all  his 
fellow-ambassadors  powdered  their  hair.  He  ven- 
tured, however,  to  preserve  his  own  simple  habit;  of 
which  Brancroft  says,  "It  acted  like  a  spell."  A 
man's  influence  is  always  enhanced  if  he  follows  the 
bent  of  his  own  conscience  in  defiance  of  criticism. 


172  WHAT   IS   THAT   TO    THEE? 

It  is  no  sin  to  be  singular.  The  three  Babylonish 
youths  were  alone  in  great  Babylon  in  refusing  to 
doff  their  bonnets  before  the  great  image;  the  outcry 
did  not  harm  them. 

Another  question  by  which  we  frequently  solve 
our  ethical  problems  is,  "What  is  the  fashion?" 
The  increasing  sin  of  Sabbath  desecration  may  be 
largely  traced  to  this  source.  We  are  prone  to  jus- 
tify ourselves  by  saying,  "They  all  do  it."  Here 
again  the  Master's  word  is  imperative:  "  What  is  that 
to  thee?     Follow  thou  me." 

Let  it  be  observed  that  some  things  are  always 
right,  under  all  circumstances  and  for  everybody;  for 
example,  love  toward  God  and  love  toward  man. 
And  some  things  are  always  wrong  for  everybody  and 
under  all  circumstances;  such  as  impiety,  meanness 
and  selfishness.  Let  it  be  observed  further  that 
some  things  may  be  wrong  for  others  and  right  for 
you;  and  contrariwise,  some  things  are  right  for 
others  and  wrong  for  you.  Circumstances  alter 
cases.  As  Macaulay  has  said,  "Right  and  wrong 
actions  are  not  always  to  be  distinguished  by  marks  so 
plain  as  those  which  distinguish  a  hexagon  from  a 
square. "  For  want  of  considering  this  fact  we  indulge 
in  much  unjust  fault-finding.  "  Judge  not  that  ye  be 
not  judged,"  said  the  Master;  "  for  with  what  judg- 
ment ye  judge,  ye  shall  be  judged;  and  with  what 
measure  ye  mete,  it  shall  be  measured  unto  you 
again."  We  must  carry  our  own  burdens  of  duty; 
each  for  himself  must  meet  before  his  own  conscience 
all  questions  of  responsibility.  Paul  says,  "Who 
art  thou  that  judgest  another  man's  servant?  To  his 
own  master  he  standeth  or  falleth."     In  the  sphere 


WHAT    IS   THAT    TO    THEE?  1 73 

of  duty  as  everywhere  it  behooves  a  man  to  attend 
strictly  to  his  own  business.  And  there  is  a  tremen- 
dous truth  in  the  old  proverb,  "  Those  who  live  in 
glass  houses  should  not  throw  stones." 

Our  Lord  put  it  on  this  wise:  "  How  wilt  thou  say 
to  thy  brother,  Let  me  pull  out  the  mote  out  of  thine 
eye;  and,  behold,  a  beam  is  in  thine  own  eye?  Thou 
hypocrite,  first  cast  out  the  beam  out  of  thine  own  eye ; 
and  then  shalt  thou  see  clearly  to  cast  out  the  mote  out 
of  thy  brother's  eye."  This  is  the  law  against  cen- 
soriousness.  It  does  not  mean  that  we  are  to  be  tol- 
erant of  wrong  or  falsehood;  it  does  mean  that  we 
have  no  jurisdiction  over  the  consciences  of  our  fellow- 
men.  He  is  a  tiresome  man  who  has  no  definite  views 
of  right  and  wrong:  but  Paul  Pry  is  a  great  nuisance. 
The  proper  course  for  a  man  to  pursue  is  to  let  his 
own  light  shine  so  that  others  shall  see  his  good  works 
and  glorify  God.  Do  right,  my  friend,  and  worry 
less  about  the  conduct  of  others.  Do  right  and  let 
the  crowd  sweep  by.  The  world's  fashion  is  of  less 
moment  than  to  keep  one's  conscience  pure.  Hear 
the  Master  saying:  "What  is  that  to  thee?  Follow 
thou  me." 

At  a  critical  period  of  our  Civil  War  the  President 
was  severely  criticized  for  his  conduct  of  affairs.  A 
member  of  his  cabinet  suggested  the  propriety  of 
making  a  formal  explanation.  His  answer  was,  "  If 
we  begin  that,  we  might  as  well  close  the  shop.  I 
am  doing  the  best  I  can,  the  best  I  know  how;  and  I 
intend  to  keep  on  doing  so.  If  the  end  justifies  me, 
all  my  traducers  will  be  silenced;  if  not,  a  legion  of 
angels  from  heaven,  all  testifying  to  the  purity  of  my 
motives  and  the  wisdom  of  my  course,  would  make 


174  WHAT    IS    THAT    TO    THEE? 

no   difference.     I  must  keep   on  following  my   con- 
science and  leave  the  issue  with  God." 

III.  As  to  service  in  the  Kingdom  of  Christ.  A  place 
is  here  appointed  to  every  earnest  man.  There  are 
diversities  of  gifts,  but  the  same  Spirit:  and  there 
are  diversities  of  administration,  but  the  same  Lord. 
To  one  is  given,  by  the  Spirit,  the  word  of  wisdom, 
to  another  the  word  of  knowledge  by  the  same  Spirit; 
but  all  these  worketh  that  one  and  the  selfsame  Spirit, 
dividing  to  every  man  severally  as  he  will. "  This  being 
so,  it  should  be  obvious  that  every  man  is  responsible 
to  God  alone  for  the  faithful  discharge  of  duty. 

Yet  we  are  ever  disposed  to  criticize  those  who  do 
not  adjust  themselves  to  our  methods.  No  doubt 
there  were  some  who  found  fault  with  "  blundering 
Peter,"  who  yet  scarcely  lifted  their  hands  to  advance 
the  cause.  As  I  was  coming  to  my  study  yesterday 
on  the  Broadway  line,  the  car  was  somehow  displaced 
from  the  track.  The  passengers  stood  around,  eager 
but  unable  to  help.  There  was,  however,  one  fussy 
gentleman  with  cane  and  gloves,  who  showed  an 
eloquent  acquaintance  with  the  entire  business  of 
traction.  He  felt  wholly  competent  to  criticize 
and  advise  the  gripman  and  all  concerned  in  the 
affair;  but  I  perceived  that  when  all  was  over  this 
fussy  gentleman  had  not  soiled  his  gloves.  Good 
people,  let  us  cease  finding  fault.  The  world  would 
go  far  better  if  all  would  keep  sweet  and  abide  in 
their  appointed  places.  Give  others  credit  fordoing 
their  best.  Or  if  they  fail,  what  then?  The  Master's 
word  is  still,  "  What  is  that  to  thee?  Follow  thou  me. " 
And  while  prone  to  criticize  others,  we  are  blind  to 
our  own  shortcoming  and  malfeasance.    We  make  no 


WHAT    IS    THAT    TO    THEE  ?  175 

scruple  of  standing  idle  in  the  market  place.  If  re- 
minded of  the  proverb,  "Nine-tenths  of  the  work  of 
the  Christian  church  is  done  by  one-tenth  of  its  mem- 
bers," we  comfort  ourselves  with  the  thought  that 
we  are  in  a  respectable  majority.  The  Master  goes 
by  with  the  sweat  of  the  harvest  on  his  brow,  and 
after  him  the  laborers  with  sickle  in  hand.  Alas  that 
we  should  be  so  little  disturbed  by  his  call,  "  What  is 
it  to  thee  that  others  are  indolent  ?    Follow  thou  me!" 

At  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  Scotland  was  much  exercised  as  to 
the  duty  of  foreign  evangelization.  The  controversy 
waxed  warm.  The  proposition  was  opposed  on  various 
grounds.  At  length  Dr.  Erskine,  ex-officio  member 
of  the  Assembly,  seated  close  by  the  pulpit  in  recog- 
nition of  his  advanced  years  and  honorable  service, 
rose  and  said,  with  a  deep,  tremulous  voice,  "Mod- 
erator, rax  me  yon  Bible,  wull  ye  ?  "  He  took  the 
volume,  opened  it,  and  read  aloud  these  words: 
"  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  unto 
every  creature";  and  adding,  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord," 
he  sat  down.  It  was  enough.  Christ  is  our  prophet ; 
his  word  in  matters  of  faith  and  conduct  is  ultimate 
to  those  who  follow  him.  No  argument  can  stand 
against  his  precept.  No  authority,  no  array  of 
multitudinous  influence  can  have  a  feather's  weight 
against  "Thus  saith  the  Lord." 

A  word  now  to  non-Christians.  The  injunction  of 
the  Master  was  addressed  primarily  to  his  disciples; 
but  it  is  not  without  significance  for  those  who  do 
not  profess  to  follow  him.  The  plea  most  frequently 
advanced  for  this  default  is  the  inconsistencies  of 
Christians.     It  is  said,  "They  do  not  live  up  to  their 


176  WHAT    IS   THAT    TO    THEE? 

profession."  This  is  true.  We  are  not  what  we  ought 
to  be,  and  nobody  knows  it  better  than  ourselves. 
In  fact,  however,  we  are  not  in  the  church  because 
we  profess  to  be  good  people,  but  only  because  we 
are  trying  to  be  good.  We  know  our  infirmity  and 
feel  the  need  of  association  for  mutual  help.  The 
best  we  can  say  for  ourselves  is,  "  We  are  not  what 
we  ought  to  be;  we  are  not  what  we  mean  to  be;  but 
by  the  grace  of  God  we  are  what  we  are." 

But  the  criticism  is  not  true  as  intended  by  those  who 
make  it.  The  inference  they  draw  is  that  there  is  no 
benefit  in  the  fellowship  of  service  or  in  the  open  con- 
fession of  Christ.  The  falsity  of  that  conclusion  may 
be  easily  demonstrated.  Let  all  the  church  mem- 
bers of  New  York  be  drawn  up  in  line;  let  all  others 
be  arrayed  in  an  opposite  line;  then  walk  between 
them,  my  friend,  and  pass  judgment.  We  are  humbly 
willing  to  abide  the  issue. 

Furthermore  if  the  criticism  were  true,  this  would 
nevertheless  not  affect  your  personal  responsibility. 
The  question  is  a  purely  personal  one.  If  Christ 
be  the  Son  of  God,  it  is  your  duty  to  believe  in 
him.  If  he  said  of  the  Eucharist,  "  Do  this  in 
remembrance  of  me,"  it  is  your  duty  to  partake  of 
it.  If  he  said,  "Let  your  light  shine  before  men," 
it  is  your  duty  to  confess  him.  And  if  all  the  so-called 
Christians  on  earth  were  arrant  hypocrites,  your  duty 
in  these  premises  would  remain  the  same.  "What  is 
that  to  thee?     Follow  thou  me. " 

No  excuse  for  holding  aloof  from  the  Christian 
profession  can  be  considered  valid  which  will  not 
stand  in  the  Judgment.  A  fine  showing  a  man  would 
make  on  that  occasion  who,  when  God  asks,  "  What 


WHAT    IS   THAT    TO    THEE?  177 

has-t  thou  to  say  for  thyself,  in  that  thou  didst  not 
follow  the  Christ?"  should  answer:  ''Yonder  is 
Noah  who  lay  drunken  in  his  tent;  yonder  is  Peter 
who  thrice  denied  thee;  yonder  is  David  who  sinned 
in  the  matter  of  Bathsheba. "  No,  friend,  you  would 
not  dare.  The  sophism  is  too  plain.  No  man  refuses 
good  money  because  there  are  counterfeits  abroad. 
How  shall  you  absolve  yourself  from  sinning  against 
your  own  conscience  by  the  fact  that  professing 
Christians  are  not  what  they  should  be  ? 

And,  finally,  as  to  the  application  of  this  particu- 
lar sermon :  It  is  not  for  the  man  in  the  next  pew.  It  is 
our  infirmity,  that  we  know  too  well  our  neighbor's 
need.  How  natural  it  was  for  David  to  grow  indignant 
with  the  landlord  who  robbed  his  poor  tenant  of  the 
one  ewe-lamb  that  had  eaten  of  his  bread,  drunk  of 
his  cup  and  lain  in  his  bosom.  "As  the  Lord  liveth," 
he  cried,  "the  man  that  hath  done  this  thing  shall 
surely  die."  But  how  hard  it  was  to  take  the  appli- 
cation to  himself,  when  the  prophet  added,  "Thou 
art  the  man!  "  Take  the  truth  to  yourself,  my  friend; 
let  God's  word  find  you  out.  Cease  asking,  How 
about  this  or  that  man?  As  to  your  concern  with 
truth  and  duty,  there  is  but  one  man,  yourself.  Alone 
you  live;  alone  you  must  die;  alone  you  must  answer 
for  the  conduct  of  this  life  before  the  Judgment-bar 
of  God. 


RHODA,  THE  GATEKEEPER 

"And  as  Peter  knocked  at  the  door  of  the  gate,  a  damsel  came  to  hearken, 
named  Rhoda  (Greek  for  Rose  or  Rosa).  And  when  she  knew  Peter's  voice 
6he  opened  not  the  gate  for  gladness,  but  ran  in  and  told  how  Peter  stood 
before  the  gate.  And  they  said  unto  her,  Thou  art  road.  But  she  constantly 
affirmed  that  it  was  even  so."— Acts  12, 13-15. 

The  place  is  familiar  but  the  circumstances  are 
strange.  This  is  the  upper  room  in  Salome's  house, 
where  Jesus  was  accustomed  to  meet  his  disciples. 
It  is  fourteen  years,  however,  since  he  was  crucified 
and  many  things  have  happened  in  the  interim.  His 
followers  in  Jerusalem  were  permitted  for  a  time  to 
worship  unmolested  :  but  now  the  sword  has  been 
unsheathed.  James,  the  faithful  pastor  of  the  Jeru- 
salem church,  has  been  beheaded.  Peter  has  been 
thrown  into  prison  and  is  reserved  for  death.  It  is  a 
fear-stricken  company  that  assembles  in  the  upper 
room.  They  are  come  together  to  pray  Peter  out  of 
prison.  Can  they  do  this  ?  It  remains  to  be  seen. 
They  unite  their  supplications  with  suppressed  ear- 
nestness, for  there  is  danger  in  the  air.  The  doors 
are  locked;  and  Rhoda  the  handmaid  is  stationed  at 
the  outer  wicket. 

Meanwhile  Peter  is  in  prison,  guarded  by  four 
quaternions  of  soldiers  and  bound  with  a  double 
chain.  He  is  as  secure  as  resolute  foes  can  make 
him.  But  no  walls  are  thick  enough,  no  chains  are 
strong  enough,  no  guards  are  watchful  enough  to 

(178) 


RHODA,    THE   GATEKEEPER.  179 

hold  a  man  prisoner  when  God  resolves  to  free  him. 
The  excitement  of  the  day  has  wearied  Peter  and  he 
rests,  lulled  to  sleep  by  a  good  conscience,  despite  the 
fact  that  this  may  be  his  last  day  on  earth. 

In  the  upper  room  not  far  distant  his  comrade, 
John,  is  leading  the  sorrowful  disciples  in  prayer: 
"O  Lord,  leave  not  thy  servant  in  the  power  of  the 
enemy,  but  deliver  him  for  thy  great  mercy's  sake!" 

On  a  sudden  a  great  light  shines  in  the  dungeon; 
the  hand  of  an  angel  is  laid  upon  Peter  and  a  voice 
says,  ''Arise  up  quickly."  (In  the  upper  room  John 
is  pleading,  "O  thou  who  hast  promised  never  to 
leave  nor  forsake  thine  own,  be  present  with  thy 
beloved  servant,  we  entreat  thee,  and  bring  him 
forth  out  of  darkness  and  the  shadow  of  death!") 
As  Peter  struggles  to  his  feet,  his  chains  fall  off; 
the  angel  says,  "Gird  thyself  and  bind  on  thy  san- 
dals ;  cast  thy  garment  about  thee  and  follow  me." 
He  obeys  as  one  in  a  dream;  the  great  doors  open 
before  them  noiselessly  as  if  their  bolts  were  drawn 
by  unseen  hands;  the  last  one  opens  and  closes  be- 
hind them,  and  they  are  standing  under  the  starlit  sky. 
(In  the  upper  room  the  petition  rises:  "O  God, 
thy  ways  are  not  as  our  ways,  nor  thy  thoughts  as 
our  thoughts;  we  are  at  our  wits'  end,  but  the  thing 
which  is  impossible  with  men  is  possible  with  thee.") 

Then  the  angel  vanishes.  Peter  rubs  his  eyes,  won- 
ders, comes  to  himself.  Whither  now  shall  he  go  ? 
There  is  but  one  place;  to  the  upper  room  where  he 
knows  the  disciples  are  praying  for  him.  (The  voice 
of  John  is  pleading:  "  O  Lord,  we  believe  thy  prom- 
ises; thou  art  the  hearer  and  answerer  of  prayer; 
we  beseech  thee  restore  our  beloved  Peter  to  us.") 


180  RHODA,    THE    GATEKEEPER. 

A  knock  at  the  door!  How  it  startles  them.  Is  it 
an  officer  come  to  summon  another  of  their  num- 
ber to  prison  and  death?  Who  next?  Their  faces 
are  blanched ;  the  voice  of  prayer  is  hushed.  Another 
knock,  and  a  distinct  voice  without.  The  portress 
comes  running  in,  breathless  with  excitement,  crying-, 
"It  is  Peter;  he  stands  before  the  gate!"  This  is 
too  good  to  believe.  "The  damsel  is  mad,"  they 
say.  They  have  been  praying  for  Peter's  deliverance, 
and  hoping  against  hope;  the  answer  to  their  prayers 
has  come  in  person,  is  knocking  at  the  gate.  O  ye  of 
little  faith,  unbolt  the  door  and  let  your  answer  in! 

Let  us  leave  Peter  at  the  gate  and  the  disciples 
within — eager,  questioning,  still  hesitating  to  believe, 
— while  we  fasten  our  eyes  on  Rhoda,  the  gatekeeper, 
who  stands  there  as  an  embodiment  of  faith.  She  was 
well  named  "  the  Rose;  "  for  among  those  disciples, 
older  and  cleverer  than  she,  there  is  not  one  that 
renders  a  sweeter  service:  it  is  indeed  the  very 
attar  of  devotion,  acceptable  as  frankincense  before 
the  gracious  God. 

I.  Observe  the  Simplicity  of  her  Faith.  It  was  a  great 
truth  that  Jesus  uttered  on  one  occasion,  when, 
placing  a  child  in  the  midst  of  his  disciples,  he  said, 
"Except  ye  become  as  this  little  one,  ye  shall  in  no 
wise  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 

The  question  is  as  to  the  Philosophy  of  Prayer. 
The  parties  to  the  controversy  are  those  outside  the 
upper  room,  who  believe  not,  those  within  who  have 
been  driven  to  their  knees,  and  Rhoda  the  gatekeeper. 

The  discussion  runs  on  this  wise:  " Our  first  ob- 
jection to  prayer,"  say  those  without,  "is  the  immo- 
bility of  God.     His  plans  and  purposes  are  from  all 


RHODA,    THE    GATEKEEPER.  l8l 

eternity.  It  is  inconceivable  that  he  should  be  turned 
aside  by  the  breath  of  his  creatures.  The  imprison- 
ment of  Peter  is  but  part  of  an  Eternal  plan;  it  is 
therefore  a  vain  impertinence  to  pray  for  him." — To 
which  those  within  reply,  ' '  God  is  indeed  immutable ; 
but  immutability  is  one  thing  and  immobility  another. 
He  is  not  like  the  Sphinx,  that  abides  in  imperturbable 
serenity  while  the  storms  of  centuries  sweep  by.  He 
has  a  heart  that  can  be  touched  with  a  feeling  of  our 
infirmities;  his  name  is  'Our  Father';  and  as  a 
father  pitieth  his  children,  so  he  pitieth  them  that 
fear  him." — But  while  the  argument  goes  on  in  this 
manner,  the  little  gatekeeper  has  merely  this  to  say: 
"You  have  been  praying  for  Peter;  and,  lo,  he  is  at 
the  door;  shall  I  run  and  let  him  in  ?  " 

"Our  second  objection  to  prayer,"  say  those  with- 
out, "is  the  inviolability  of  nature's  laws.  There  is  a 
fixed  order  of  the  universe,  and  it  cannot  be  sup- 
posed that  the  voice  of  an  humble  petitioner  should 
interfere  with  it." — "But  this  inviolability,"  argue 
those  within,  "  must  be  understood  with  reference  to 
higher  law.  If  I  lift  my  hand,  I  violate  the  Law  of 
Gravitation ;  if  I  put  down  my  foot,  I  violate  the  Law 
of  Momentum;  if  I  shield  my  head  from  the  pelting 
rain,  I  violate  the  Law  of  the  Elements  :  but  this  is 
because  I  am  myself  the  depository  and  agent  of  a 
higher  law.  If  this  is  possible  to  me,  it  is  surely 
possible  to  God  who  is  above  all." — And  still  the 
weightiest  contribution  to  the  argument  comes  from 
Rhoda,  who  can  only  say,  "  You  have  prayed,  and 
your  answer  is  waiting;  shall  I  admit  it  ?  " 

"But  thirdly  ,"  say  those  without,  "  while  denying 
the  objective  benefit  of  prayer,we  are  quite  willing  to 


1 82  RHODA,    THE    GATEKEEPER. 

admit  its  reflex  influence.  If  you  go  into  the  moun- 
tain like  Moses  to  commune  with  the  Infinite  and 
Eternal  One,  it  is  reasonably  certain  that  you  will 
come  down  with  your  faces  shining. " — "Aye,  but  there 
is  something  more,"  say  those  within;  "else  what  is 
the  meaning  of  assurances  like  this  :  '  Ask  and  it 
shall  be  given  unto  you ;  seek  and  ye  shall  find ; 
knock  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you '  ?  Such 
promises  are  indeed  given  under  certain  conditions, 
as  that  the  petitioner  must  have  faith,  must  urge  his 
suit  with  humble  importunity,  must  assume  an  atti- 
tude of  filial  acquiescence. " — But  Rhoda,  still  waiting, 
can  only  say,  "  I  do  not  understand  your  argument; 
only  this  1  know;  you  have  been  praying  for  Peter 
long  and  earnestly,  and  Peter  is  knocking  at  the 
door.     Shall  I  admit  him  ?  " 

O  sweet  simplicity  of  faith!  The  Rose  takes  what 
God  gives  and  asks  no  questions.  It  receives  the  air, 
the  sunshine  and  the  benignant  elements  of  the  soil, 
assimilates  them  and  transmutes  them  into  beauty 
and  fragrance.  Would  that  all  our  hearts  were  like- 
wise open  to  truth! 

"  If  our  faith  were  but  more  simple. 
We  should  take  him  at  his  word, 
And  our  lives  would  be  all  sunshine 
In  the  beauty  of  the  Lord." 

II.  Here  is  an  illustration  of  the  Reliability  of  Faith. 
I  hear  one  saying,  "  Simple  folk  like  Rhoda  may  re- 
ceive dogmas  and  promises  without  question;  but  for 
thinking  men  and  women  an  ounce  of  reason  is 
worth  a  pound  of  faith."  This  suggestion,  however, 
rests  on  a  misunderstanding.  What  is  faith?  Is  it 
to  take  things  on  hearsay?     Is  it  to  believe  without 


RHODA,   THE    GATEKEEPER.  183 

evidence?  By  no  means;  "faith  is  the  substance  of 
things  hoped  for,  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen." 
Faith  is  substance.  Faith  is  evidence.  It  yields  the 
strongest  certitude  because  it  rests  on  the  surest 
foundations.  Faith  is  stronger  than  reason.  Its 
argument  is  more  irrefutable  than  any  in  the  Baconian 
philosophy.  The  inductive  method  reasons  from 
facts  to  a  conclusion:  and  what  can  be  more  satis- 
factory? "Facts  cannot  lie, "  they  say.  It  is  true 
that  one  fact  cannot  lie;  but  when  you  bind  two  facts 
or  more  into  a  bundle  of  premises,  the  nexus  is  your 
own  and  the  conclusion  may  be  false.  There  is  no 
sophism  in  facts,  but  there  are  tremendous  possibili- 
ties of  sophistry  in  reasoning  from  facts.  Let  it  not 
be  supposed  that  the  faith  of  Rhoda  was  credulity; 
far  from  it. 

(1)  To  begin  with,  she  had  the  evidence  of  her 
senses.  She  had  heard  the  voice  of  Peter  without  the 
gate.  All  great  spiritual  truths  are  substantiated  in 
like  manner.  Coleridge  heard  God  in  the  Vale  of 
Chamouni  as  really  as  one  hears  the  roll  of  thunder. 
I  have  seen  regeneration  and  so  have  you.  Jerry 
McAuley  was  regeneration  made  visible  and  walking 
about  among  men.  We  have  felt  immortality;  felt  it 
as  really  as  if  spirits  from  the  unseen  world  had 
clasped  our  hands.  What  else  are  these  "intimations" 
of  which  philosophers  have  written  and  poets  sung  ? 
We  are  drawn  as  with  invisible  cords.  The  unseen 
world  is  all  around  us. 

(2)  Rhoda  had,  furthermore,  the  testimony  of  the 
divine  word.  A.s  an  inmate  of  the  home  of  Salome, 
she  must  have  been  acquainted  with  the  Scriptures 
and  familiar  with  the  promises.     There  is  a  sense  in 


1S4  RHODA,    THE    GATEKEEPER. 

which  a  promise,  with  authority  behind  it,  is  more 
satisfactory  than  a  visible  and  tangible  fact.  Here  is 
a  bar  of  yellow  metal  said  to  be  worth  ten  thousand 
dollars,  and  here  beside  it  is  a  government  bond  for 
the  same  amount.  Which  will  you  choose  ?  The 
shining  bar?  Nay;  take  heed  how  you  trust  your 
eyes;  for  many  a  countryman  has  been  deceived  by  a 
"gold  brick."  You  will  q£  a  certainty  choose  the 
government  bond ;  since  there  is  unquestioned  value 
in  a  promise  to  pay  issued  by  a  nation  with  a  vast 
exchequer.  Thus  faith  is  more  reliable  than  sight. 
The  little  gatekeeper  might,  indeed,  have  been  de- 
ceived in  Peter's  voice,  but  she  was  quite  confident 
of  the  veracity  of  God. 

(3)  She  had,  still  further,  the  response  of  her  inner 
consciousness.  This  is  called  the  ultimate  test  of  truth. 
A  man  is  not  loyal  to  himself,  if  he  rejects  the  voice 
of  divinity  within  him.  It  is  a  grave  mistake  to  say, 
"  I  will  believe  only  that  which  can  be  verified  by  the 
physical  senses."  Here  was  the  fault  in  Tyndall's 
prayer-test.  A  photographer  who  has  just  taken 
your  portrait  may,  yielding  to  your  insistence,  ex- 
pose the  sensitive  plate  to  the  light;  but  in  doing  so 
he  will  confim  your  doubt  instead  of  dispelling  it, 
since  the  picture,  affronted  by  the  test,  vanishes  in 
an  instant.  God  and  the  great  invisible  truths  which 
center  in  him  can  not  be  subjected  to  mathematical 
demonstration.  If  that  were  possible,  faith  would 
be  not  only  unnecessary;  there  would  be  no  place 
for  it. 

We  have  one  form  of  evidence  which  Rhoda  had 
not;  to  wit,  the  testimony  of  a  great  cloud  of  wit- 
nesses.    We  must  decide  here  between  negative  and 


RHODA,    THE    GATEKEEPER.  185 

positive  testimony.  On  the  night  of  the  13th  of 
November,  1898,  there  was  a  meteoric  shower.  You 
were  probably  asleep  and  did  not  observe  it.  Will 
you  believe  that  there  was  such  a  shower,  or  not  ? 
There  are  hundreds  of  astronomers  who  say  that  they 
watched  it  from  their  observatories.  There  are  tens 
of  thousands  of  others  who  sat  up  all  night  to  ob- 
serve it.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are  multitudes 
who  are  prepared  to  testify  that  they  saw  nothing 
of  it.     What  then,  will  you  conclude  ? 

There  are  millions  of  people  on  earth  who  certify 
that  they  have  had  personal  communion  with  God, 
that  they  have  experienced  the  mystery  of  regener- 
ation under  the  power  of  his  Spirit,  that  the  blood 
of  Jesus  Christ  has  cleansed  them  from  the  shame 
and  bondage  of  sin,  and  that  they  have  received  an- 
swers to  prayer  again  and  again.  It  is  respectfully 
submitted  that  the  credulous  man  is  not  he  who 
accepts  this  mass  of  evidence,  but  he  who  prefers  the 
negative  testimony  of  those  who  were  asleep  and  did 
not  see  the  falling  stars.  It  is  incredible  that  rational 
men  should  not  give  immense  weight  to  the  word  of 
hosts  of  well  accredited  witnesses  who  testify  with 
reference  to  the  great  truths  of  the  Christian  religion: 
"That  which  we  have  heard,  that  which  we  have 
seen  with  our  eyes,  that  which  we  have  looked  upon 
and  our  hands  have  handled  of  the  Word  of  life, 
declare  we  unto  you." 

III.  We  perceive  here,  still  further,  the  Comfort  of 
Faith.  It  was  a  sorrowful  company  that  surrounded 
Rhoda  in  the  upper  room.  They  were  overwhelmed 
with  fears  and  misgivings;  the  traces  of  tears  were  on 
their  cheeks.    The  little  maid  alone  was  happy  among 


186  RHODA,    THE    GATEKEEPER. 

them.  Dear,  absent-minded  Rhoda!  So  transported 
was  she  by  the  sound  of  Peter's  voice  that  she  neg- 
lected to  open  the  door  and  let  him  in. 

There  are  four  stages  of  progress  from  spiritual 
pain  to  peace.  I  see  a  man  walking  along  a  country- 
road,  alone,  shivering  in  the  cold,  muttering  to  him- 
self in  bitterness  of  soul,  "  Who  will  show  us  any- 
good?"  This  is  Unbelief. — I  see  him  again  pausing 
before  a  gate,  looking  toward  the  lighted  windows  of 
a  home  in  the  distance,  listening  to  faint  sounds  of 
music,  wondering,  fearing,  scarce  venturing  to  hope. 
This  is  Doubt. — I  see  him  now  coming  down  the  gar- 
den path  and  looking  in  at  the  windows;  he  notes  the 
fire  on  the  hearth  and  the  well  provided  table,  the 
dancing  and  merrymaking  in  which  he  has  neither 
part  nor  lot.  This  is  Knowledge. — I  see  him  once  more 
in  his  place  at  the  table;  there  is  a  ring  on  his  finger, 
there  are  shoes  on  his  feet,  he  is  eating  of  the  Father's 
bread  and  drinking  of  his  wine.  This  is  Faith.  The 
joy  of  life  is  not  in  perceiving  things,  but  in  appro- 
priating them.  The  comfort  of  our  religion  is  not  in 
gazing  at  objective  truth,  but  in  making  it  ours. 
The  secret  of  heaven  is  in  the  possessive  pronoun ;  it 
is  to  say  of  Christ,  "He  is  my  Saviour";  of  his 
cross,  "This  is  my  salvation  " ;  of  his  people,  "These 
are  my  friends  ";  and  of  his  glory,  "  I  shall  have  part 
in  it." 

We  have  thus  pursued  the  argument  of  faith  plus 
reason  as  against  reason  alone.  Truth  yields  not  to 
the  demand  of  philosophers,  but  of  little  children. 
We  must  stoop  to  conquer.  Let  Faith  and  Reason 
go  side  by  side  to  Calvary.  Ask,  "What  is  the  mean- 
ing of  this  cross?"     Reason  replies,   "The  cross  is 


RHODA,    THE    GATEKEEPER.  187 

two  transverse  beams  of  wood  on  which  malefactors 
are  slain."  But  Faith  says,  "The  cross  is  the  wis- 
dom and  the  power  of  God." — Ask,  "What  is  this 
superscription?"  Reason  answers,  "It  is  written, 
'Jesus  of  Nazareth,  King  of  the  Jews,'  and  is  in  three 
languages,  Greek,  Latin  and  Hebrew."  But  Faith 
says,  "This  is  the  King  of  the  Universal  Israel;  my 
Lord  and  my  God." — Ask,  "What  is  this  blood?" 
Reason  replies,  "Blood  is  a  thin  colorless  liquid, 
known  as  plasma,  filled  with  infinitesimal  disks  or 
corpuscles,  involving  somehow  the  mystery  of  life." 
But  Faith  says,  "This  blood  is  the  love  of  God,  the 
mercy  of  God,  the  power  and  pity  of  God;  there  is 
life  in  apprehending  it,  there  is  heaven  in  a  glimpse 
of  it,  there  are  oceans  of  bliss  in  a  drop  of  it!  " 

Let  us  away,  therefore,  with  cold  Reason  that  re- 
fuses to  accept  what  lies  beyond  the  finger  tips,  and 
welcome  Faith.  Stand  out  of  our  light,  ye  mere 
analysts  and  naturalists,  who  darken  counsel  by 
words  without  knowledge.  One  hour  of  Rhoda's 
simple  faith  in  the  great  verities  is  worth  a  thousand 
cycles  of  proud  groping  among  the  shadows  of  doubt 
and  unbelief.  There  is  many  an  old  woman  in  the 
chimney  corner,  with  her  Bible  on  her  knee,  who  sees 
further  along  the  great  vistas  of  truth  than  all  the 
Magians  who  lean  on  their  own  understanding. 
There  is  many  a  blind  beggar  who  lifts  his  sightless 
sockets  toward  heaven  and  penetrates  more  deeply 
into  the  invisible  than  those  who  boast  of  their  ac- 
quaintance with  the  schools.  What  is  man  whose 
breath  is  in  his  nostrils  that  he  should  reply  to  God's 
manifesto?  An  earthworm  raising  its  head  before 
the  royal  chariot!     A  mote  in  a  sunbeam,  with  an 


1 88  RHODA,   THE    GATEKEEPER. 

infinitesimal  glint  of  light  borrowed  from  the  sun, 
prating  of  itself  as  a  rival  luminary. 

We  have  kept  Peter  waiting  at  the  door  too  long. 
He  enters,  and  his  friends  can  doubt  no  more.  He 
clasps  their  hands  and  kneeling  down  makes  recog- 
nition of  God's  goodness.  They  had,  indeed,  been 
seeing  through  a  glass  darkly  but  now  face  to  face. 
No  more  will  they  question,  no  more  discuss  the  Phi- 
losophy of  Prayer.  That  problem  is  forever  solved 
for  them. 

One  greater  than  Peter  waits  at  the  door  asking  to 
be  admitted  that  he  may  reveal  to  us,  in  clear  and 
indubitable  form,  all  the  sublimities  and  profundities 
of  the  spiritual  life.  He  knoweth  the  Father,  and 
none  other  can,  except  those  to  whom  he  shall  reveal 
him.  He  knoweth  heaven  and  immortality,  and  the 
glory  that  eye  hath  not  seen  nor  ear  heard.  He 
knocks  and  calls;  but,  alas,  we  prefer  to  linger  in  the 
company  of  our  doubts  and  misgivings.  He  knocks 
and  calls:  we  know  his  voice.  Why  not  withdraw 
the  bolts,  admit  him  and  behold  Truth,  face  to  face 
and  eye  to  eye?  Here  is  his  word:  "Behold,  I  stand 
at  the  door  and  knock;  if  any  man  will  open  unto 
me,  I  will  come  in  and  sup  with  him  and  he  with  me. " 


THE  MARKS  OF  THE  LORD  JESUS 

"  From  henceforth  let  no  man  trouble  me  ;  for  I  bear  in  my  body  the  marks 
of  the  Lord  Jesus." — Gal.  6,  17. 

An  old  soldier  was  at  bay.  His  opponents  were 
pressing  him  hard.  At  this  time  Paul  was  worn  and 
weary.  It  was  not  easy  to  be  patient  under  false 
accusation,  particularly  when  his  accusers  were  from 
the  house  of  avowed  friendship.  The  same  had 
occurred  a  year  before  when  certain  ones  in  the 
Corinthian  church  had  impugned  his  teaching  and 
called  his  apostleship  in  question.  It  was  on  that 
occasion  that  Paul  stooped,  as  he  says,  to  "play  the 
fool "  in  self-defense.  His  plea  is  one  of  the  classics 
of  eloquence: 

' '  Would  to  God  ye  could  bear  with  me  a  little  in  my 
folly;  and  indeed  bear  with  me.  I  say  again,  Let  no  man 
think  me  a  fool;  if  otherwise,  yet  as  a  fool  receive  me,  that 
I  may  boast  ?nyself  a  little.  That  which  I  speak,  I  speak 
it  not  after  the  Lord,  but  as  it  were  foolishly,  in  this  confi- 
dence of  boasting.  Seeing  that  many  glory  after  the  flesh, 
L  will  glory  also.  For  ye  suffer  fools  gladly,  seeing  ye 
yourselves  are  wise.  For  ye  suffer,  if  a  man  bring  you 
into  bondage,  if  a  man  devour  you,  if  a  man  take  of  you, 
if  a  man  exalt  hi?nself,  if  a  man  smite  you  on  the  face.  L 
speak  as  concerning  reproach,  as  though  we  had  been  weak. 
Howbeit,  whereinsoever  any  is  bold  (L  speak  foolishly),  L 

(189) 


190  THE    MARKS   OF    THE    LORD    JESUS. 

am  bold  also.  Are  they  Hebrews  ?  so  am  I.  Are  they 
Israelites  ?  so  am  I.  Are  they  the  seed  of  Abraham  ?  so  am 
J.  Are  they  ministers  of  Christ  ?  (/  speak  as  a  fool)  I 
am  more ;  in  labors  more  abundant,  in  stripes  above 
measure,  in  prisons  more  frequent,  in  deaths  oft.  Of  the 
Jews  five  times  received  I  forty  stripes  save  one.  Thrice 
was  I  beaten  with  rods,  once  was  I  stoned,  thrice  I  suffered 
shipwreck,  a  night  and  a  day  I  have  been  in  the  deep;  in 
journeyings  often,  in  perils  of  robbers,  in  perils  by  mine 
own  countrymen,  in  perils  by  the  heathen,  in  perils  in  the 
city,  i?i  perils  in  the  wilderness,  in  perils  in  the  sea,  in 
perils  among  false  brethren;  in  weariness  and painfulness, 
in  watchings  often,  in  hunger  and  thirst,  in  fastings  often, 
in  cold  and  nakedness.  Beside  those  things  that  are  with- 
out, that  which  cometh  upon  me  daily,  the  care  of  all  the 
churches  "   (2  Cor.  xi.  1,  16-28). 

And  now  he  was  under  fire  again,  and  the  poign- 
ancy of  the  attack  was  heightened  by  its  coming  from 
his  dear  missionary  churches  of  Galatia.  The  Juda- 
izers  there,  not  content  with  antagonizing  his  teach- 
ing as  to  divine  grace,  had  challenged  his  credentials 
But  who  were  these  recent  recruits,  and  what  were 
their  noble  achievements,  that  they  should  turn  upon 
him  ?  It  was  now  twenty-six  years  since  he  had  been 
converted  on  the  way  down  to  Damascus,  and  they  had 
been  years  of  hard  fighting.  He  had  earned  his  knight- 
hood ;  where  was  their  service  chevron  ?  He  knew  the 
smell  of  prison  mold:  had  felt  the  tang  of  the  leaden- 
pointed  scourge.  He  had  been  tanned  by  the  suns 
of  Asian  deserts;  had  been  swept  about  in  the  moun- 
tain-torrents of  Macedonia;  had  drifted,  helpless  and 
forlorn,  upon  the  open  seas.  He  was  familiar  with 
hunger  and  cold,  with  poverty  and  persecution.      It 


THE    MARKS    OF    THE    LORD    JESUS.  I91 

was  hard  under  these  circumstances  to  be  assailed  by 
professing  Christians.  The  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  is 
his  masterly  reply.  He  presents  here  a  calm  argu- 
ment for  the  Doctrine  of  Grace,  which  his  opponents 
had  sought  to  controvert;  the  great  doctrine  which 
Luther  characterized  as  "The  article  of  a  standing 
or  a  falling  church."  As  he  approaches  the  imputa- 
tions made  upon  his  apostolic  authority,  the  fire  of 
just  indignation  waxes  hot,  until,  in  his  closing  sen- 
tences, he  outvies  the  fervid  eloquence  of  Desmos- 
thenes  in  his  oration  on  "The  Crown."  What 
righteous  scorn  is  here!  What  just  contempt! 
*' Hands  off!"  he  cries.  Noli  me  tangere !  Shall 
carpet-knights  assail  a  tried  and  proven  soldier  of 
the  cross?  "From  henceforth  let  no  man  trouble 
me ;  I  bear  in  my  body  the  marks  of  the  Lord  Jesus !  " 

Our  inquiry  has  reference  to  these  "marks  of  the 
Lord  Jesus."  What  were  they?  The  word  is  stig- 
mata; there  are  suggestions  of  practical  value  in  it. 

I.  The  apostle  speaks  as  a  Slave.  The  word  doulos, 
"slave,"  used  frequently  in  Paul's  writings,  is  bor- 
rowed from  the  teachings  of  Christ.  It  means  abso- 
lute ownership,  such  as  was  shown  by  the  puncturing 
of  the  master's  name,  with  hot  needles,  in  the  fore- 
head. Paul  thinks  of  himself  as  no  longer  his  own, 
having  surrendered  all  faculties  and  powers  of  body 
and  soul  to  the  domination  of  Christ.  "If  ye  have 
aught  against  me,"  he  says,  "go  to  Jesus,  whose  I 
am  and  whom  I  serve.  I  bear  his  marks  in  my  fore- 
head. To  him  alone  am  I  responsible.  To  my  own 
Master  I  stand  or  fall." 

It  is  apparent  that  here  is  the  Christian's  coign  of 
vantage  as   against   all  criticism  whatsoever.      But  it 


192  THE   MARKS  OF   THE   LORD   JESUS. 

is  a  high  position  to  take,  and  quite  impossible 
except  as  we  have  submitted  ourselves  to  Jesus  Christ 
in  an  absolute  surrender.  Thus  is  it  written:  "Ye 
are  not  your  own;  ye  are  bought  with  a  price.  For- 
asmuch as  ye  know  that  ye  were  not  redeemed  with 
corruptible  things,  as  silver  and  gold;  but  with  the 
precious  blood  of  Christ,  as  of  a  lamb  without  blem- 
ish and  without  spot."  Have  we  been  subjugated 
thus?  And  do  we  gladly  and  triumphantly  avouch 
our  Lord's  control?  Do  we  bear  his  marks  of  owner- 
ship ?  If  so,  it  matters  little  what  man  may  say 
against  us. 

II.  But  Paul  speaks,  also,  as  a  Devotee.  The  god- 
mark  was  familiar  in  those  days.  It  is  still  to  be 
seen  among  the  Hindoos,  the  cabalistic  sign  of  Siva 
or  Vishnu  on  the  forehead.  It  tells  at  what  altar  a 
worshiper  pays  his  devotions,  to  whose  temple  he 
brings  his  daily  offering  of  rice.  It  is  an  open  con- 
fession, as  if  he  said,  "  This  is  my  god."  But  you 
need  not  go  to  India  to  find  the  god-mark.  All  men 
wear  it  in  their  lives  and  characters.  Observe  it  as 
you  pass  along  the  street.  Here  is  one  whose  rest- 
less eyes  betray  his  consecration  to  Mammon.  Here 
is  another  whose  countenance  is  seared  with  the  red 
brand  of  Bacchus;  and  others  wear  the  mark  of  the 
Beast  in  their  sensual  features  (Rev.  13,  16). 

If  a  man  believes  in  the  true  God,  it  is  his  plain  duty 
to  declare  it;  but  confession  does  not  wait  upon  an 
open  manifesto.  No  more  is  it  a  matter  of  fringes 
and  phylacteries.  Get  once  into  the  divine  presence 
and  you  must,  like  Moses,  go  your  way  with  a  shining 
face.  Jacob  met  God  by  the  brook  Jabbok  and  there 
his  thigh  was  touched,  the  sinews  shrank  and  the 


THE    MARKS    OF    THE   LORD    JESUS.  1 93 

man  thenceforth  went  limping  on  his  way.  In  like 
manner  Saul  of  Tarsus,  as  he  journeyed  to  Damascus 
met  God  face  to  face,  was  blinded  by  a  sudden  flash 
of  his  glory,  and  ever  afterward  bore  the  trace  of 
that  interview  in  his  blinking  eyes.  There  is  a  real 
sense  in  which  God  leaves  his  mark  on  every  man 
who  comes  into  close,  vital  touch  with  him.  Our 
walk  and  conversation  is  a  plain  avowal  of  spiritual 
allegiance.  "Thy  speech,"  said  the  high  priest's 
servants  to  Peter,  " bewray eth  thee." 

III.  And  Paul  speaks  as  a  Soldier.  His  loyalty  was 
vindicated  by  honorable  scars.  The  members  of 
the  dueling  corps  of  the  University  at  Heidelberg 
are  proud  to  display  in  their  slashed  features  the 
sign-manual  of  the  sword.  But  the  service  of  Christ 
is  no  mere  nourish  of  foils:  it  is  a  real  campaign  on 
the  high  places  of  the  field.  "We  wrestle  not  against 
flesh  and  blood,  but  against  principalities,  against 
powers,  against  the  rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this 
world,  against  spiritual  wickedness  in  high  places." 
Our  foes  are  said  to  be  "the  world  and  the  flesh  and 
the  devil."  The  man  who  goes  forth  against  these 
with  a  courageous  heart  is  quite  sure  to  be  marked 
for  life. 

Let  a  man  array  himself  against  the  world,  and  it 
will  straightway  smite  him  in  the  face.  Have  you 
ever  defied  its  fashion  or  gone  athwart  its  custom  ? 
Then  you  were  stigmatized  as  "singular"  or  "ec- 
centric": or  if  in  dead  earnest,  you  were  character- 
ized as  a  bigot  or  a  fanatic. 

He  who  makes  a  brave  struggle  against  the  flesh, 
that  is,  his  own  lower  or  baser  nature,  must  bear  the 
tokens   of  that   struggle   with   him.     But   they   are 


194  THE   MARKS   OF    THE    LORD    JESUS. 

honorable  scars:  for  "he  that  ruleth  his  own  spirit 
is  greater  than  he  that  taketh  a  city."  It  is  no  small 
matter  to  get  the  better  of  your  envy,  your  avarice, 
your  evil  habit,  your  hot  temper.  This  is  "hard 
pounding",  as  Wellington  said  of  Waterloo;  and  no 
man  gets  off  unscathed.  If  you  have  seen  Tissot's 
pictures  of  the  Magdalene,  you  will  remember  how  in 
one  she  stands  in  her  doorway,  decked  with  jewels 
and  radiant  with  smiles.  In  the  other,  both  smiles  and 
jewels  are  gone;  her  face  wears  a  serious  look:  and 
the  sparkling  brightness  of  her  eyes  has  given  way  to  a 
calm  light  which  betrays  the  peace  that  passeth  under- 
standing. She  has  fought  a  great  fight  and  won  back 
her  womanhood.  She  has  entered  into  the  fulness  of 
the  sweet  promise:  "  To  him  that  overcometh  will  I 
give  to  eat  of  the  hidden  manna;  and  I  will  give  him  a 
white  stone,  wherein  is  a  new  name  written,  which 
no  man  knoweth  saving  he  that  receiveth  it." 

And  what  shall  be  said  of  him  who  confronts  the 
devil  face  to  face  ?  To  deny  the  personality  of  this 
prince  of  the  power  of  the  air  is  to  betray  a  frivolous 
mind.  He  is  a  man  of  shallow  experience  who  can- 
not say,  "I  have  measured  swords  with  him."  The 
early  masters  were  fond  of  representing  Christ  in  the 
Wilderness  as  dwelling  among  wolves  and  hyenas  and 
lions;  but  there  was  one  shadowy  presence  with  him 
during  those  awful  days,  more  real  than  ravenous 
beasts.  He  was  led  of  Satan  hither  and  thither  and 
tested  at  every  point,  ever  replying  "  Get  thee  behind 
me!"  And  when  those  days  of  temptation  were 
over,  his  physical  strength  was  so  reduced  that  angels 
must  needs  come  and  minister  unto  him.  Thus  it 
is  with  every  man  who  meets  the  adversary;  he  has 


THE   MARKS   OF    THE    LORD    JESUS.  1 95 

the  sympathy  of  One  who  can  be  touched  with  the 
feeling  of  our  infirmities,  having  been  tempted  at  all 
points  like  as  we  are,  who  holds  out  the  promise  of  a 
splendid  triumph  and  a  glorious  reward:  but  when 
that  conflict  is  over  its  marks  are  evermore  upon  him. 

IV.  Still  further,  the  apostle  speaks  as  a  Sufferer  for 
Jesus  sake.  There  are  fiery  trials  in  Christian  experi- 
ence which  sear  the  features.  Pain  drives  its  plough- 
share in  furrows  across  the  brow.  These  also  are 
marks  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  "if  so  be  that  we  suffer 
with  him. " 

Much  of  our  affliction  is  merely  passive.  There 
are  many  who  lie  on  beds  of  languishing,  racked  and 
twisted  with  anguish,  sustained  by  the  presence  of 
One  who  taketh  note  of  their  patience  and  "  putteth 
their  tears  into  his  bottle  "  (Psalm  lvi.8).  All  serv- 
ice is  not  active  service.  He  is  a  faithful  follower 
of  Christ,  who,  able  to  do  nothing  but  lie  and  cough, 
does  that  contentedly  for  Jesus'  sake. 

But  the  thought  of  the  apostle  goes  deeper.  He 
speaks  elsewhere  of  his  desire  "to  fill  up  that  which 
is  behind  of  the  afflictions  of  Christ";  as  if  he  felt 
himself  to  be  in  some  wise  a  participator  in  the  re- 
demptive pain  of  his  Master.  It  is  true  that  we  may  not 
pass  into  the  deep  darkness  of  Gethsemane  to  drink 
of  our  Lord's  purple  cup  of  vicarious  death;  for  He 
treadeth  the  wine-press  alone;  but  we  may  abide  in 
the  outer  shadow  of  the  olive-trees,  wakeful  and 
prayerful,  sympathizing  with  him.  The  passion  of 
Christ  is  a  passion  for  souls;  and  this  must  be  the 
passion  of  his  people  as  well.  If  thus  we  suffer  with 
him,  we  shall  also  reign  with  him.  It  was  in  view  of 
this  phase  of   suffering  that  he  said,    "If  any  man 


196  THE    MARKS    OF    THE    LORD    JESUS. 

will  come  after  me,  let  him  take  up  his  cross  and 
follow  me."  Our  cross  gets  its  significance  from 
the  analogy  of  his  cross.  It  is  a  work  to  be  volun- 
tarily taken  up  by  every  one  who  follows  Jesus,  for 
the  sake  of  delivering  souls  from  the  bondage  and 
shame  of  sin.  He  who  has  apprehended  this  truth 
can  say,  like  Paul,  "I  am  crucified  with  Christ"; 
and  again,  "I  protest  that  I  die  daily."  He  need 
not  cut  the  nail-prints  in  his  hands  as  St.  Francis 
did;  the  world  will  put  the  stigmata  upon  him.  But, 
blessed  is  the  Christian  who,  like  Simon  of  Cyrene, 
can  feel  the  cross  of  his  Lord  resting  upon  him. 

V.  Once  more,  the  apostle  speaks  as  one  who  Labors  in 
his  Master  s  field.  The  hands  of  the  toiler  are  marked 
with  callous  ridges.  A  farmer  is  proverbially  the 
proudest  of  men.  Why  not  ?  He  knows  himself  to 
be  a  producer,  not  merely  a  consumer  of  the  earth's 
substance.  He  plants  a  handful  of  corn  and  reaps 
a  sheaf;  he  helps  to  feed  the  hunger  of  the  world. 
To  similar  work  the  Christian  is  called,  in  the  Mas- 
ter's words,  "Say  not  it  is  yet  four  months  and  then 
cometh  the  harvest;  lift  up  your  eyes  and  see!  The 
fields  are  already  white  unto  the  harvest."  It  is  for 
us,  who  follow  and  serve  him,  to  thrust  in  the  sickle 
and  reap. 

The  late  James  Tyson  of  Australia,  a  multi-mil- 
lionaire, on  being  asked  what  he  proposed  to  do 
with  his  money,  replied:  "I  have  never  troubled  my- 
self about  that.  As  for  the  money,  I  care  nothing 
for  it;  my  pleasure  has  been  in  the  game  of  making 
it.  I  set  out  in  my  early  manhood  to  fight  the  des- 
ert. I  have  put  water  where  there  was  no  water; 
and   beef   where   there   was   no  beef.      I   have   put 


THE    MARKS    OF    THE    LORD    JESUS.  I97 

fences  where  there  were  no  fences ;  and  roads  where 
there  were  no  roads.  Nothing  can  undo  what  I  have 
done.  I  have  fought  the  desert,  and  I  have  won !  " 
It  is,  indeed,  a  great  satisfaction  for  a  man  to  feel 
that  he  has  made  an  industria.  success.  But  let  us 
exalt  that  thought  to  a  higher  level,  and  rejoice  in 
that  we  are  called  to  be  "laborers  together  with 
God."  Our  supreme  joy  should  be,  not  in  our 
escape  from  sin's  penalty,  nor  in  the  hope  of  reward, 
but  in  glorious  service  for  its  own  sake.  Happy  is  he 
who  can  finally  show  the  marks  of  faithfulness,  the 
callous  ridges  made  by  sickle  and  flail,  the  evidences 
of  unremitting  and  cheerful  toil  in  fellowship  with 
his  Lord. 

I  see  the  coming  of  a  great  multitude  to  heaven's 
gate.  They  are  the  Overcomers,  such  as  have  grown 
weary  in  the  service  of  Christ.  They  cannot  keep 
step  in  the  ranks  as  militiamen  do,  for  they  are  vet- 
erans, worn  and  crippled.  They  have  been  through 
forced  marches  and  fierce  conflicts;  they  bear  the 
marks  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Their  uniforms  are  torn 
and  tattered,  and  covered  with  dust.  They  carry  a 
red-cross  banner,  sun-stained  and  winter-worn  and 
riddled  with  tempests  of  lead.  But  as  they  ap- 
proach, with  labored  step,  faint  and  limping,  the 
angels  and  archangels  lean  over  the  parapets  to 
give  them  welcome.  Make  way  for  the  Veterans! 
And  now  the  gates  roll  back  and  One  comes  forth 
to  meet  them;  One  who  hath  upon  his  vesture  and 
upon  his  thigh  a  name  written,  King  of  Kings  and 
Lord  of  Lords:  One  who  was  seen  upon  the  heights 
of  Bozrah  with  garments  dyed  red,  whose  name  is  The 
Mighty  to   Save.     On  his  brow  are   the  scars  of  a 


198  THE    MARKS   OF    THE    LORD    JESUS. 

thorny  crown;  in  his  lifted  hands  are  the  nail-prints. 
The  great  Veteran  comes  forth  to  meet  and  welcome 
his  own.  "  Come,  ye  blessed  of  my  Father!  Ye 
have  suffered  with  me,"  he  says,  "and  ye  shall  also 
reign  with  me.  Ye  have  been  faithful  unto  death, 
receive  ye  the  crown  of  life.  Enter  into  the  joy  of 
your  Lord!  "  Was  there  ever  a  triumphal  entry  like 
that?  Were  ever  more  exultant  hearts  than  theirs  ? 
Were  ever  prouder  men  ?  Would  you,  my  friend, 
be  among  them  ?     Why  not  ? 


SILENCE   IN   HEAVEN 

"  And  when  he  had  opened  the  seventh  seal,  there  was  silence  in  heaven 
about  the  space  of  half  an  hour." — Rev.  8,  i. 

A  door  was  opened  into  heaven  and  the  dreamer 
stood  in  the  presence  of  the  Great  Assize.  On  the 
throne,  beneath  an  overarching  rainbow,  sat  One 
whose  glory  was  "like  a  jasper  and  a  sardine 
stone,"  to  whom  a  great  multitude  of  angels  and 
archangels  did  obeisance,  crying,  "Holy!  Holy! 
Holy!"  In  his  right  hand  was  a  sealed  book,  the 
Record  of  the  Divine  Administration  of  Human 
Affairs.  A  voice  was  heard,  "Who  is  worthy  to 
open  the  book,  and  to  loose  the  seals  thereof  ?  "  And 
the  dreamer  says,  "I  wept  much,  because  none  was 
found  worthy  to  open  the  book."  But  one  of  the 
elders  said,  "Weep  not;  behold,  the  Lion  of  the 
tribe  of  Judah  hath  prevailed  to  open  the  book  and 
to  loose  its  seven  seals."  Then  this  Hero  of  Redemp- 
tion took  the  book,  amid  ascriptions  of  praise,  "Thou 
art  worthy!  for  thou  hast  redeemed  us  by  thy  blood 
out  of  every  kindred  and  tongue  and  people  and 
nation,  and  hast  made  us  kings  and  priests  unto 
our  God !" 

At  the  breaking  of  the  first  seal  the  White  Horse 
of  peace  was  revealed;  and  Shelomith  sat  upon  him, 
wearing  a  diadem  and  armed  with  a  bow. — The  second 

(199) 


200  SILENCE    IN    HEAVEN. 

seal  was  opened  and  the  dreamer  saw  the  Red  Horse 
of  war,  his  rider  armed  with  a  dripping  sword. 
There  was  the  confused  noise  of  battle,  and  garments 
rolled  in  blood;  the  clang  of  weapons;  the  fierce  cry 
of  victory,  mingled  with  lamentation. — At  the  open- 
ing of  the  third  seal  appeared  the  Black  Horse  of 
famine.  He  that  sat  upon  him  had  a  pair  of  balances ; 
and  a  voice  proclaimed,  "A  measure  of  wheat  for  a 
penny,  and  three  measures  of  barley  for  a  penny ;  and 
see  thou  hurt  not  the  oil  nor  the  wine!  " — The  fourth 
seal  was  opened,  and,  behold,  the  Pale  Horse  of 
pestilence.  The  earth  is  strewn  with  corpses  and  the 
stench  of  corruption  is  in  the  air. — At  the  opening  of 
the  fifth  seal  a  great  Altar  appears,  and  under  its 
shadow  the  souls  of  the  martyrs.  And  they  cry 
with  a  loud  voice,  "How  long,  O  Lord,  holy  and 
true,  dost  thou  not  judge  and  avenge  our  blood  ?" — 
The  breaking  of  the  sixth  seal  reveals  a  terrific  scene 
of  confusion.  The  earth  reels  and  totters,  the  sun  is 
black  as  sackcloth  of  hair  and  the  moon  is  as  blood ; 
the  stars  of  heaven  are  falling  as  when  a  fig-tree  cast- 
eth  her  untimely  figs;  the  heavens  are  rolled  together 
as  a  scroll;  kings  and  potentates  are  crying  to  the 
mountains  and  rocks,  "  Fall  on  us  and  hide  us!  " 

At  this  point  comes  a  parenthetic  vision.  An  angel 
is  seen  wearing  the  signet  of  Jehovah,  with  which, 
going  abroad  through  the  earth,  he  marks  the  fore- 
heads of  the  righteous.  Then,  as  in  a  dissolving 
view,  the  scene  is  shifted  and  a  multitude  of  saints 
triumphant  are  seen  arrayed  in  white  robes  and  with 
palms  in  their  hands;  and  one  of  the  elders  an- 
nounces, "These  are  they  which  came  up  out  of  great 
tribulation  and  have  washed  their  robes,  and  made 


SILENCE   IN    HEAVEN.  201 

them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  Therefore  are 
they  before  the  throne  of  God,  and  serve  him  day 
and  night  in  his  temple:  and  he  that  sitteth  on  the 
throne  shall  dwell  among  them.  They  shall  hunger 
no  more,  neither  thirst  any  more:  neither  shall  the 
sun  light  on  them,  nor  any  heat.  For  the  Lamb 
which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  shall  feed  them, 
and  shall  lead  them  unto  living  fountains  of  waters: 
and  God  shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes." 

Then  the  seventh  seal  was  opened;  and  "  there  was 
silence  in  heaven  about  the  space  of  half  an  hour"; 
that  is,  the  dreamer  waited  for  such  a  period  expect- 
ant, but  no  vision  came  and  no  word  was  spoken. 
Silence!  The  harpers  on  the  sea  of  glass  stood  lean- 
ing on  their  harps;  the  elders,  and  the  angels  and 
archangels  ceased  from  their  ascriptions  of  praise. 
Silence !  Silence  in  the  High  Court  of  Heaven. 
Silence  as  on  a  battle-field  when  the  conflict  is  over 
and  the  dusk  of  evening  falls. 

Why  this  silence  ?  Because  there  was  nothing  to 
say.  The  opening  of  the  seventh  seal  revealed  the 
mystery  of  the  Divine  Administration  of  Human 
Affairs;  and  the  denouement  was  so  satisfactory  that 
all  questioning  and  disapproval  were  put  to  shame. 
What  was  revealed  we  cannot  say;  but  it  convinced 
the  assembled  multitude  of  the  absolute  wisdom  and 
goodness  of  God. 

The  world  is  noisy  with  controversy.  The  air  is 
full  of  whys  and  wherefores.  Our  lesson  is  an  algebraic 
problem,  in  which  we  are  ever  perplexed  by  an  un- 
known factor;  but  at  the  opening  of  the  seventh  seal 
the  x  will  be  reduced  to  known  terms,  and  our  be- 
wilderment will  cease. 


202  SILENCE    IN    HEAVEN. 

I.  The  Problem  in  its  larger  form  is  called  History; 
that  is,  God's  hand  in  universal  affairs.  Not  every 
man  can  write  history.  David  Hume  was  disqualified 
by  reason  of  his  failure  to  perceive  the  development 
of  a  divine  purpose  in  the  world.  He  was  a  compiler 
of  facts;  fortuitous  events,  bound  together  like  a 
bundle  of  fagots.  He  saw  the  shadows  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse, peace  and  war,  famine  and  pestilence,  galloping 
fast  like  riderless  horses  on  a  desolate  field  of  battle. 
But  as  to  any  ''philosophy  of  history"  he  was  not 
competent  to  frame  it. 

For  the  clear  solution  of  the  problem  we  must  await 
the  final  apocalypse;  but  the  centuries  thus  far  have 
revealed  some  indisputable  facts.  One  is,  that  a  defi- 
nite plan  pervades  the  present  order.  Nothing  hap- 
pens; all  things  are  preconcerted;  all  work  together 
in  a  progressive  scheme. — Another  fact  is  that  all 
events  center  in  and  radiate  from  the  cross.  What 
we  call  civilization  is  merely  its  effulgence.  The 
limits  of  civilization  and  Christendom  are  co-exten- 
sive. The  voice  of  Jehovah  is  to  be  heard  above  all 
the  confusion  of  passing  events,  saying,  "I  will  de- 
clare the  decree:  '■Thou  art  my  Son;  this  day  have  I 
begotten  thee.  Ask  of  me  and  I  will  give  thee  the  heathen 
for  thine  inheritance  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for 
thy  possession.''" — And  still  another  fact  is  that  there 
are  no  real  reverses  in  Christian  progress.  Everthing 
is  going  right;  century  by  century,  year  by  year,  day 
by  day.  Events  are  clearly,  irresistibly  moving  on 
toward  the  restitution  of  all  things. 

I  have  sometimes  stood  on  the  seashore  when  it 
seemed  impossible  to  determine  whether  the  tide  was 
going  out  or  coming  in.     But  let  me  wait  awhile  and 


SILENCE    IN    HEAVEN.  203 

the  tide  will  speak  for  itself.  It  advances,  leaves  its  im- 
press in  a  lace-like  outline  on  the  beach  for  a  moment, 
and  then  recedes.  And  so  again  and  again,  making 
no  apparent  headway:  yet  I  must  surely  retreat  as 
the  tide  rolls  in.  There  are  those  who  deny  the 
cumulative  influence  of  the  Gospel,  saying,  "There 
is  no  real  progress.  The  thing  that  hath  been  shall 
be;  and  there  is  nothing  new  under  the  sun."  Yet 
there  has  not  been  a  year  within  our  memory  when 
they  have  not  been  obliged  to  shift  their  position  to 
avoid  the  overwhelming  logic  of  events. 

The  law  of  progress  is  as  sure  as  gravitation.      If 
there  be  a  momentary  arrest,   it  is  only  for  the  re- 
gathering  of  force.     A  man  who  had  always  dwelt 
in  darkness  would  be  greatly  bewildered  if  brought 
forth  to  see  the  day  break.    What  would  this  mean  to 
him?     A  tremulous  shimmer  in  the  east;    a  flaming 
arrow  shot  upward ;  another  and  another;  then  ghosts 
and  specters  flying  noiselessly  as  if  from  an  unseen 
bowman ;    now   arrows   flying   thick   and  fast ;    now 
crimson  fingers  stretched  aloft,  as  of  some  radiant 
angel;    the  glories  brightening,   fading,  brightening 
again ;  now  a  shining  forehead  followed  by  a  resplen- 
dent face;  the  unseen  Bowman  is  at  hand,  and  "joc- 
und Day  stands  tiptoe  on  the  misty  mountain  tops." 
Such  a  conflict  of  light  and  darkness  would  be  wholly 
bewildering  to  one  unfamiliar  with  it;   to  one  who 
did  not  know  the  end  from  the  beginning  as  we  do. 
The  eyes  of  faith,  as  well  as  the  logic  of  experience, 
are  needed  to  assure  us  that  the  progress  of  truth 
and    righteousness    is   as   this    shining   light   which 
shineth  brighter  and  brighter  to  the  perfect  day. 
Yet  there  are  doubts  to  be  solved  and  questions  to 


204  SILENCE    IN    HEAVEN. 

be  answered,  and  we  must  needs  await  the  opening 
of  the  seventh  seal.  "He  calleth  to  me  out  of  Seir, 
'  Watchman,  what  of  the  night  ? '  The  watch- 
man said,  '  The  morning  cometh  and  also  the 
night!  '  "  But  when  the  curtain  is  lifted  at  last, 
we  shall  be  awestruck  by  the  convincing  tokens  of 
God's  wisdom  in  the  procession  of  events.  It  will 
appear  then  that  the  ups  and  downs  of  history  were 
alike  in  the  interest  of  progress,  and  we  shall  see  the 
divine  glory  shining  through  all. 

In  the  meantime  we  are  always  in  danger  of  dark- 
ening counsel  by  words  without  knowledge.  Carlyle 
speaks  of  "that  chaotic  hubbub  in  which  men's  souls 
run  to  waste."  I  preached  in  a  country  church  last 
summer  where  I  could  see  through  the  open  door  a 
group  of  young  people  in  the  porch;  their  suppressed 
voices  and  laughter  were  an  interruption  to  the  calm 
current  of  thought.  Far  better  would  it  be  for  our 
faith  could  we  withdraw  from  the  noisy  diversion 
of  argument.  There  are  larger  truths  to  be  learned 
in  the  closet  than  in  the  forum.  "  The  world  is  too 
much  with  us." 

II.  Let  us  turn  now  to  the  more  personal  phase 
of  the  problem ;  that  is,  Providence.  For  Providence 
is  merely  history  with  an  emphasis  on  the  personal 
factor;  it  is  God's  hand  in  my  affairs  and  yours. 
And  here  we  observe  a  like  confusion.  The  riderless 
horses  run  up  and  down  in  our  changeful  lives.  We 
recognize  the  general  principle  of  compensation;  but 
the  law  is  in  question  because  of  numberless  excep- 
tions. The  fabric  seems  all  threads  and  thrums. 
The  righteous  man  is  abased  while  the  wicked  flour- 
ishes like  a  green  bay-tree.     Justice  is  out  of  joint. 


SILENCE    IN    HEAVEN.  205 

Was  Koheleth  right  when  he  said,  "  The  wise  dieth 
as  the  fool,  and  there  is  no  profit.  All  is  vanity  and 
vexation  of  spirit"  ?  Or  is  there  something  yet  to  be 
revealed  before  the  problem  of  Providence  shall  be 
solved? 

Ask  Worldly-wiseman  and  he  will  overwhelm  you 
with  his  volubility.  He  holds  the  clew  of  the  maze. 
Job  sits  in  the  ashes  of  his  prosperity  with  potsherd 
in  hand,  and  his  neighbors  come  to  comfort  him. 
Many  are  their  wise  suggestions;  and  Job  murmurs: 
"If  your  soul  were  in  my  soul's  stead,  I  also  could 
heap  up  words  against  you  and  shake  my  head  at 
you."  Once  and  again  they  urge  their  consolations 
in  vain  and  the  afflicted  man  cries:  "Miserable  com- 
forters are  ye  all!  " 

We  open  the  Scriptures;  and  here  are  words  of 
genuine  help  and  comfort:  "He  sitteth  as  a  refiner 
of  silver";  "All  things  work  together  for  good  to 
them  that  love  God";  "There  remaineth  a  rest." 
Yet  these  are  but  glimmering  lights.  The  whys 
and  wherefores  still  remain.  We  abide  in  patience 
because  we  can  do  nothing  else.  The  unknown 
factor  holds  the  most  important  place  in  the  problem  ; 
and  we  await  the  time  when  God  shall  express  its 
value  in  known  terms.  We  remember  how  he  said : 
"What  I  do  thou  knowest  not  now,  but  thou  shalt 
know  hereafter";  and  again,  "In  that  day  ye  shall 
know." 

Here  is  the  true  philosophy  of  life.  We  were  rest- 
ive in  childhood  under  restraints  that  seem  quite 
reasonable  now.  Why  was  I  kept  at  my  lessons  in 
school  when  the  birds  were  singing  and  the  fields 
were  green?      Why  must  I  be  kept  at  my  boyish  tale 


206  SILENCE    IN    HEAVEN. 

of  bricks  when  the  show  was  passing  along  the 
streets,  with  the  gilded  band-wagon  in  front  and  the 
lads  of  the  village  following  after  ?  Why  was  I  allowed 
to  read  only  Peter  Parley  when  the  others  were  read- 
ing Sylvanus  Cobb  ?  Why  was  I  shut  in  the  closet 
for  a  peccadillo,  for  such  a  little  thing  ?  Ah,  now  I 
see.  "  When  I  was  a  child  I  thought  as  a  child."  I 
said  many  things  in  those  days  that  would  not  bear 
the  test  of  later  wisdom.  We  are  but  children  after 
all.  God's  thoughts  are  not  as  our  thoughts;  one 
day  he  will  share  his  thoughts  with  us.  The  develop- 
ments of  the  future  will  satisfy  and  silence  us. 

The  man  who  wrote  "  God  moves  in  a  mysterious 
way,"  had  set  out  for  Blackfriar's  Bridge,  in  melan- 
choly mood,  to  drown  himself.  He  wandered  to  and 
fro,  puzzled  in  the  labyrinth  of  streets,  until  the  mer- 
ciful Lord  brought  him  to  himself.  He  returned  to 
his  apartment,  fell  upon  his  knees  in  gratitude,  and 
then  arose  and  wrote: 

"  God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way 
His  wonders  to  perform; 
He  plants  His  footsteps  in  the  sea, 
And  rides  upon  the  storm. 
"  Deep  in  unfathomable  mines 
Of  never-failing  skill, 
He  treasures  up  His  bright  designs, 
And  works  His  sovereign  will. 
"  Ye  fearful  saints,  fresh  courage  take; 
The  clouds  ye  so  much  dread 
Are  big  with  mercy,  and  shall  break 
In  blessings  on  your  head. 
"Judge  not  the  Lord  by  feeble  sense, 
But  trust  Him  for  His  grace; 
Behind  a  frowning  providence 
He  hides  a  smiling  face. 


SILENCE    IN    HEAVEN.  207 

"  His  purposes  will  ripen  fast, 
Unfolding   every  hour  ; 
The  bud  may  have  a  bitter  taste, 
But  sweet  will  be  the  flower. 

"  Blind  unbelief  is  sure  to  err, 
And  scan   His  work  in  vain: 
God  is  His  own  Interpreter, 
And  He  will  it  plain" 

What  then  ?  Let  us  talk  less  and  believe  more.  Isaac, 
meditating  in  the  fields  at  eventide,  gets  nearer  to  the 
truth  than  men  in  noisy  arenas  of  debate.  The  most 
provoking  man  in  Pilgrim's  Progress  is  Mr.  Talka- 
tive. God  has  many  truths  for  listeners,  but  few  for 
the  garrulous.  He  sows  in  fields  apart,  where  chat- 
tering crows  are  ever  watching  for  the  scattered  seed. 
The  doctrine  of  the  Incarnation  has  been  discussed 
in  historic  councils  with  scanty  results.  But  once  it 
pleased  God  to  reveal  it  to  a  woman  in  such  wise  as 
never  before  or  since;  and  it  is  written  of  her,  "Mary 
kept  these  things  in  her  heart  and  pondered  them." 
God  has  messages  of  duty,  also,  for  you  and  me ;  but 
they  can  scarcely  be  received  or  apprehended  amid 
the  strife  of  tongues.  A  prophet  knelt  on  the  sum- 
mit of  Carmel,  with  his  head  between  his  knees.  A 
mighty  wind  swept  over;  but  the  Lord  was  not  in  the 
wind.  The  earth  shook  and  trembled  beneath  him ; 
but  the  Lord  was  not  in  the  earthquake.  The  forests 
glowed  and  crackled  in  a  mighty  conflagration  around 
him ;  but  the  Lord  was  not  in  the  fire.  And  after 
that  a  still  small  voice  said,  "What  doest  thou  here, 
Elijah?"  Faith  is  fostered  thus  in  quiet  hours.  God 
reveals  himself  to  those  who  come  apart  with  him. 

If  you,  my  friend,  have  discovered  aught  of  the 


208  SILENCE    IN    HEAVEN. 

Lord's  secret,  let  it  be  as  a  sweet  confidence  between 
you  and  him.  There  are  some  things  to  speak  aloud 
and  others  to  cherish  in  the  breast.  It  is  written, 
"The  secret  of  the  Lord  is  with  them  that  fear  him: 
and  he  will  show  them  his  covenant."  What  the  Lord 
whispers  to  his  chosen,  in  the  inner  place  of  his  pavil- 
ion is  but  the  faintest  prophecy  of  that  which  shall 
ultimately  be  revealed  in  explanation  of  his  wise 
dealings  with  us.  It  is  recorded  that  as  Alexander 
the  Great  was  reading  a  letter,  he  detected  his  favorite 
Hephaestion  looking  over  his  shoulder;  whereupon 
he  uttered  no  reproof  but  significantly  placed  his 
finger  on  his  lips.  God's  sweetest  revelation  to  our 
souls  is  incommunicable.  Men  caught  up  into  the 
third  heaven  see  things  "which  it  is  not  lawful  to 
utter."  The  great  truth  is  convincing  beyond  all 
words.  Wherefore,  let  us  be  swift  to  hear,  slow  to 
speak.  Speech  is  silver;  but  silence  is  golden.  The 
essence  of  practical  theology  is  here:  "Be  still  and 
know  that  I  am  God." 


"WHERE  THE  PATHS  MEET,  SHE 
STANDETH " 

"  In  the  top  of  high  places  by  the  way,  where  the  paths  meet,  she  stand- 
eth."— Proverbs  8,  2  (R.  V.). 

In  the  Book  of  Proverbs — which  is  a  dramatic 
presentation  of  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of 
human  life — you  have  observed  a  figure  passing  in 
and  out  among  the  madding  crowd,  of  kindly  face 
and  friendly  speech.  She  is  described  as  having  in 
her  right  hand  length  of  days  and  in  her  left  hand 
riches  of  honor;  "  her  ways  are  ways  of  pleasantness 
and  all  her  paths  are  paths  of  peace."  Her  name  is 
Wisdom,  and  her  purpose  is  to  counsel  and  admonish 
those  who  are  unmindful  of  their  own  good.  Now 
in  the  gateway,  where  merchants  do  congregate; 
now  with  the  crowd  surging  along  the  streets;  anon, 
at  the  crossing  of  the  ways,  she  stretches  forth  her 
hands,  warning,  exhorting,  promising,  pleading: 
"  My  voice  is  unto  the  sons  of  men.  O,  ye  simple, 
understand  wisdom;  and  ye  fools,  be  of  an  under- 
standing heart!  " 

We  have  come  to  the  sanctuary,  each  by  his  own 
road  and  going  his  ain  gait.  Are  we  quite  sure  we 
have  been  going  right  ?  Let  us  hear  the  call  of 
Wisdom  to  a  calm  consideration  of  life's  responsi- 
bilities and  issues.    Here,  "where  the  paths  meet,  she 

(209) 


2IO    "where  the  paths  meet,  she  standeth. 

standeth."  All  readers  of  Dickens  are  familiar  with 
Seven  Dials,  in  London:  it  is  a  center  where  streets 
converge,  like  the  hands  on  a  dial  or  the  spokes  of  a 
wheel.  One  midnight  I  stood  there,  bewildered: 
knowing  well  by  what  thoroughfare  I  had  come,  but 
questioning,  "Which  way  now?"  Let  us  pause 
here  as  at  Seven  Dials  and  consider.  We  are  desirous 
of  reaching  the  highest  possibility  of  character  and  use- 
fulness; but  are  our  faces  set  thitherward?  "There 
is  a  way  which  seemeth  right  unto  a  man,  but  the 
end  thereof  are  the  ways  of  death."  Here  is  the 
possibility  of  an  irreparable  mistake.  Let  us,  there- 
fore, look  around  us,  and  at  the  meeting  of  the  Seven 
Paths  of  Life  enquire,  Which  way  ? 

i.  I  see  yonder  a  broad  thoroughfare, — The  Street 
of  the  Breadwinners.  All  who  journey  there  are  bear- 
ing burdens.  They  are  honest  people;  but  O  how 
weary  and  troubled!  What  are  they  doing?  Toil- 
ing to  make  both  ends  meet;  struggling  to  keep  the 
wolf  from  the  door.  And  where  are  they  going  ?  To 
shops,  factories,  offices:  and  after  that?  Alas!  they 
seem  heedless  of  the  outlook.  They  are  worn  and 
weary  plodders,  with  no  light  in  their  eyes,  no 
spring  in  their  step.  These  are  the  people  who  make 
the  work-a-day  world  go  round.  The  heavens  are 
open  above  them ;  but  their  faces  are  downcast  and 
they  do  not  see.  They  rise  with  the  sun  and,  after 
making  their  tale  of  bricks,  go  joylessly  to  bed. 
Weary;  O,  so  weary  and  heavy  laden !  Is  a  man  then 
no  better  than  a  horse  or  an  ox  ?  Is  life  worth  living 
at  this  rate  ? 

But  I  see,  going  in  and  out  among  them,  a  Fellow- 
craftsman  with  a  shining  face  and  enheartening  words. 


"WHERE  the   paths  meet,  she  STANDETH.       211 

The  sweat  of  labor  is  on  his  brow:  under  his  arm  is 
a  wooden  plow  which  he  has  mended  at  his  shop. 
His  hands  are  as  the  hands  of  a  breadwinner;  but  his 
voice  is  the  voice  of  Wisdom :  "  O  sons  and  daughters 
of  toil,  know  ye  not  that  the  kingdom  of  God  is 
among  you  ?  Life  is  not  circumscribed  b)'  the  nar- 
row walls  of  our  workshops.  Lift  up  your  eyes  and 
see;  the  heavens  are  open;  ye  live  forever!  It  is 
yours  to  dream  dreams  and  see  visions  of  the  eternal 
life.  Be  laborers  together  with  me  in  the  service  of 
truth  and  righteousness.  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that 
labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest." 

And  alas,  the  many  heed  him  not.  How  sordid 
their  lives,  and  how  hopeless!  Their  backs  are  break- 
ing under  burdens;  and  their  hearts  are  breaking  as 
well.  All  their  energies  are  put  into  their  lower 
tasks.  They  live  like  beasts  of  burden,  and  they  die 
as  galley  slaves  go  scourged  to  their  dungeons.  No 
heaven  above!  No  life  beyond!  Is  life  worth  living 
in  that  way  ? 

II.  But  here  is  another  thoroughfare;  The  Golden 
Way.  It  is  paved  with  gold  ;  a  golden  mist  is  in  the 
air.  Those  who  journey  here  are  not  content  with  a 
mere  livelihood ;  they  long  for  fortune,  affluence, 
opulence.  They  have  set  out  to  win  the  yellow  prize. 
They  know  no  god  but  Mammon;  before  him  tbey 
bow  and  do  obeisance. 

Some  are  young  and  hopeful.  The  fever  of  the 
quest  is  in  their  veins,  auri  sacra  fames.  They  are 
just  "getting  their  hand  in."  If  any  such  are  pres- 
ent to-night,  let  them  consider  the  wisdom  of  getting 
their  hand  in.  Do  you  know  how  monkeys  are  cap- 
tured in  Algiers  ?     A  gourd   is   hollowed  out,  baited 


212      "WHERE    THE    PATHS    MEET,   SHE    STANDETH. 

with  rice  and  placed  in  a  convenient  tree.  The  silly 
creature  reaches  in,  grasps  the  rice,  struggles  to  be 
free,  and  is  captured  because  it  refuses  to  let  go.  The 
secret  of  getting  rich  without  sorrow  is  in  knowing 
when  to  open  the  hand  and  let  go. 

And  others  in  this  Golden  Way  are  in  the  midst 
of  the  hurly-burly.  They  have  learned  the  Midas- 
touch,  so  that  all  their  investments  turn  to  profit. 
The  glittering  coin  before  their  eyes  shuts  out  the  sun 
and  stars  of  heaven.  The  love  of  earthly  good  has 
blinded  them  to  the  eternal  sublimities.  Are  they 
happy  ?     Aye ;  unless  they  stop  to  think. 

Others  of  the  Mammonites  have  grown  old  and  re- 
tired. They  have  little  to  do  but  repose  in  easy 
chairs  and  cut  off  coupons.  They  ride  along  the 
Golden  Way  in  open  carriages,  enjoying  the  fruit  of 
their  labors.  They  are  clothed  in  purple  and  fine 
linen,  and  fare  sumptuously  every  day;  but  life's 
candle  is  burning  to  the  socket.  They  set  out  years 
ago  to  conquer  wealth,  and  they  have  won.  They 
have  thought  of  gold  by  day  and  dreamed  of  gold  by 
night.  They  have  sighed  for  gold,  have  lived  for 
£old,  have  filled  their  bags  and  vaults  and  pockets 
with  gold — and,  alas!  there  is  not  one  little  pocket  in 
a  shroud. 

For,  shading  our  eyes  and  gazing  afar  to  the  end  of 
the  Golden  Way,  we  see  a  highwayman,  grim  and 
merciless,  who  meets  and  lays  a  heavy  hand  upon 
them,  crying:  "Strip!  Disgorge!  Your  money  and 
your  life!"  And,  lo!  they  vanish,  cold,  naked,  pen- 
niless. They  had  made  their  wills;  now  they  have 
left  all. 

III.   Let  us  turn  our  eyes,  now,  to  the  Path  of  Glory, 


"where  the  paths  meet,  she  standeth.      213 

leading  up  yon  steep  mountainside.  Not  many  jour- 
ney there,  but  they  are  choice  souls.  If  their  names 
were  called,  you  would  have  no  difficulty  in  recog- 
nizing them;  for  they  are  writ  large  on  the  world's 
muster-roll.  There  are  scholars,  with  their  arms  full 
of  parchments;  scientists  and  philosophers;  military 
heroes  crowned  with  wreaths  and  decorated  with 
badges  of  distinction;  kings  and  potentates  whose 
scepters  have  shaken  the  earth.  A  noble  procession 
of  ambitious  souls! 

But  observe,  as  they  journey,  how  they  all  arrive 
at  the  same  place.  It  is  an  imposing  cemetery  in  the 
far  distance,  where  monoliths,  carved  with  honorable 
epitaphs,  are  gleaming  in  the  sun.  On  this  very  day 
a  funeral  cortege  is  passing  thither,  with  tolling  of 
bells  and  the  sobbing  of  a  bereaved  nation.  Who  goes 
now  to  his  last  resting-place  ?*  The  President  of  the 
French  Republic.  As  the  hearse,  with  its  sable 
plumes,  passes  under  the  great  archway,  I  read  there 
this  inscription :  "The  Paths  of  Glory  lead  but  to 
the  Grave."  And  we  remember  the  words  of  the 
Preacher:  "  Better  is  the  sight  of  the  eyes  than  the 
wandering  of  desire;  this  is  also  vanity  and  vexation 
of  spirit." 

IV.  I  see  another  road ;  broad  and  inviting  and 
beaten  with  many  footsteps;  its  name  is  Vanitas 
Vanitatum.  Here  go  the  pleasure-seekers;  some 
reeling  and  staggering,  many  marked  with  the  red 
brand  of  sensuality.  The  voice  of  Folly,  leering  and 
ogling  from  her  door-way,  is  heard,  "  Turn  in  hither! 
Stolen  waters  are  sweet."  These  votaries  of  the  flesh 
are  sowing  wild  oats  and  must  reap  the  harvest  of 

*  President  Faure  died  on  the  Friday  preceding  this  discourse. 


214    "where  the  paths  meet,  she  standeth. 

eternal  shame;  they  are  sowing  the  wind  and 
must  reap  the  whirlwind.  "While  we  live,  let  us 
live,"  they  cry;  "for  what  is  better  than  that  a  man 
should  enjoy  the  ways  of  his  heart  and  the  sight  of 
his  eyes  ?  "  The  air  is  filled  with  laughter;  crisp  and 
hollow  laughter,  "  like  the  crackling  of  thorns " 
(Eccl.  7,  6).  I  remember  a  dreary  day  on  the  prairie 
when,  the  night  closing  in  with  a  falling  temperature, 
a  group  of  huntsmen  gathered  slender  twigs  and 
wisps  of  grass  and  kindled  them  for  warmth.  It  was 
a  ceaseless  task,  for  their  fuel  was  no  sooner  lighted 
than,  crackling  for  a  moment,  it  was  gone.  It  made 
music  while  it  lasted ;  but  it  died  so  soon !  So,  says 
Solomon,  is  the  laughter  of  fools.  They  have,  in 
very  truth,  their  labor  for  their  pains. 

And  at  the  end  of  the  merry  pilgrimage,  what  then? 
The  Judgment.  See  the  flashing  in  the  heavens;  hear 
the  roll  of  thunder.  The  mummers  have  had  "a  good 
time  ";  has  it  never  occurred  to  them  that  it  might 
be  wise  to  provide  for  a  good  eternity  ?  They  have 
reached  the  end  of  the  road,  still  keeping  up  the  pan- 
tomime of  folly.  Let  them  off  with  their  dominoes 
now!  God  is  not  mocked;  whatsoever  a  man  soweth, 
that  shall  he  also  reap.  And  we  hear  the  voice  of  the 
Preacher,  "Rejoice,  O  young  man,  in  thy  youth;  and 
delight  thyself  in  the  ways  of  thy  heart  and  in  the 
sight  of  thine  eyes;  but  know  thou  that  for  all  these 
things  God  will  call  thee  into  judgment. "  O  the  un- 
speakable shame  of  one  who,  chasing  a  butterfly, 
leaps  into  hell! 

V.  And  yonder  runs  the  Road  of  the  Merit-makers. 
They  are  a  serious  folk  who  journey  this  way.  They 
are  sensible   of  sin   and  would   earn   their  way  into 


"where  the  paths  meet,  she  standeth.      215 

heaven.  They  are  like  prisoners  who,  fettered  with 
ball  and  chain,  work  out  their  sentence  on  the  turn- 
pike. It  is  a  thankless  task:  so  much  to  be  done  and 
so  little  to  show  for  it.  Mistaken  souls,  who  have 
not  learned  the  largesse  of  heaven  or  the  glorious  lib- 
erty of  the  children  of  God ! 

I  see  many  priests  and  pontiffs  here,  with  bells 
and  pomegranates  on  their  robes,  and  broad  fringes 
and  phylacteries.  They  are  fasting,  paying  tithes, 
intoning  long  prayers,  forgetful  that  God  looketh  on 
the  heart. 

Here,  also,  go  troops  of  flagellants,  barefoot, 
clothed  in  sackcloth,  lashing  their  bodies  for  the  sins 
of  their  souls.  They  are  sad-faced  and  sad-hearted ; 
making  merit,  all.  So  have  I  seen  the  silent  monks  of 
La  Trappe  toiling  in  the  fields,  offering  no  greeting  to 
each  other  or  the  passer-by  but  "  Remember  death !  " 

And  here  are  legalists,  earning  their  way  to 
heaven  by  good  works;  unmindful  that  "by  the 
deeds  of  the  law  no  flesh  shall  be  justified."  What 
does  all  this  come  to  ?  Not  long  ago  in  the  Treasury 
Department  at  Washington  a  one-hundred  dollar  note 
was  received  which  had  been  executed  with  a  pen. 
It  was  calculated  that  three  months  of  constant  labor 
had  been  expended  on  this  counterfeit.  When  fin- 
ished, it  was  worthless,  and  its  maker  was  arrested 
in  endeavoring  to  pass  it.  Such  will  be  the  outcome 
of  all  spurious  forms  of  merit-making.  The  product 
is  nil.  Merit,  indeed,  cannot  be  made  by  mortal 
man.  There  is  no  merit,  no  legal  tender  at  the 
Judgment,  save  the  righteousness  which  is  by  faith  in 
Jesus  Christ,  who  having  expiated  our  sins  on  Calvary, 
imputes  his  righteousness  to  those  who  love  him. 


216    "where  the  paths  meet,  she  STANDETH. " 

VI.  And  behold  Via  Novissima !  There  go  the 
newsmongers;  who,  like  the  Athenians,  do  nothing 
but  hear  or  tell  some  new  thing.  They  are  engaged, 
apparently,  in  opening  up  new  avenues  through 
trackless  forests  and  over untraveled  wilds;  and  their 
song  is  ever  "  Ring  out  the  old!     Ring  in  the  new!  " 

All  these  are  agreed  that  tradition  goes  for  naught. 
It  is  enough  for  them  to  say  of  any  doctrine  that  the 
fathers  believed  it.  They  call  the  scientists  to  aid 
them  in  proclaiming  a  new  god, — Law,  Energy,  or 
All-pervading  Soul;  it  little  matters  what,  so  long  as 
there  is  a  clear  departure  from  the  teaching  of  him 
who  said,  "When  ye  pray,  say  Our  Father."  And  a 
new  Bible,  too;  a  new  Bible  by  all  means,  since  the 
world  of  progress  has  outlived  the  old  fashioned  Book 
which  our  fathers  and  mothers  loved  and  touched 
with  reverent  hands.  And  a  new  Christ;  yes;  the 
edict  has  gone  forth  from  one  our  Theological  Semi- 
naries that  the  time  is  ripe  for  "  a  restatement  of  the 
doctrine  of  Christ."  And  yet,  with  all  this  concerted 
effort  to  supersede  the  religion  of  the  past,  has  it  not 
occurred  to  these  novelty-mongers  that  they  are  go- 
ing backward  and  not  forward?  for,  indeed,  "there 
is  nothing  new  under  the  sun."  The  "new  depart- 
ures "  in  belief  which  are  proclaimed  from  time  to 
time,  are  but  revamped  heresies.  Christian  Science, 
Theosophy,  the  Higher  Criticism  are  old  as  the 
centuries.  They  are  shop-worn  goods  laid  out  on 
bargain  counters,  and,  alas!  there  are  always  foolish 
folk  to  purchase  them.  Not  long  ago,  seeing  some 
"Barlow  knives"  in  a  cutler's  sample  case,  I  said, 
"These  are  the  sort  that  was  popular  when  I  was 
a  boy;  is    there    any    market   for   them  now?"     He 


"where  the  paths  meet,  she  standeth.     217 

replied:  "O  yes;  there's  a  great  sale  for  Barlow- 
knives  on  the  Indian  Reservations."  So  the  heresies 
that  pass  out  of  fashion  in  one  age  are  sure  to  come 
into  vogue  further  on.  It  is  an  old  world  that  we 
are  living  in,  and  things  have  been  pretty  well  can- 
vassed, and  the  things  which  have  been  canvassed 
have  been  fairly  well  tried ;  and  tried  truths  are  the 
truths  for  you  and  me. 

We  note,  also,  a  current  demand  for  new  morals. 
The  old  views  of  the  sanctity  of  marriage  are  passing 
away  in  some  quarters  :  and  there  are  signs  of 
weariness  with  the  old  forms  of  Sabbath  observance. 
"  The  smart  set  "  in  society  are  giving  Sunday  musi- 
cales  and  conversations.  But  they  are  mistaken  in 
claiming  novelty  for  these  things.  A  thousand  years 
before  the  Christian  Era  the  Lord  said  to  Amos, 
"What  seest  thou?" — He  answered,  "A  basket  of 
summer  fruit." — "  And  what  hearest  thou  ?  " — "  The 
voice  of  those  who  cry,  '  When  will  the  new  moon  be 
gone  and  the  Sabbath,  that  we  may  pursue  our 
ways  ? '  "  On  this  very  afternoon  a  secular  perform- 
ance is  given  at  the  Waldorf-Astoria  by  leaders  of  the 
social  left-wing.  They  are  threshing  out  old  straw. 
They  have  fallen  in  with  the  vulgar  crowd  who  for 
centuries  have  sought  to  circumvent  the  divine  code 
of  morals. 

And  such  flatter  themselves  that  they  are  "  liberal  " 
and  "progressive."  In  reality  they  are  but  looking 
over  their  shoulders  to  a  worn-out  past.  In  blazing 
new  roads  through  the  forests,  they  merely  make 
their  way  into  a  bog.  They  are  reactionaries:  the 
world  is  too  righteous  now,  too  sensible  and  respect- 
able, to  tolerate  their  methods.     They  have  yet  to 


2l8  "where  the  paths  meet,  she  standeth." 

learn  the  aphorism  that  "What  is  true  is  old;  and 
what  is  not  old  is  not  true."  The  only  new  thing  in 
the  province  of  religion  is  that  of  which  John  Robin- 
son spoke:  "  The  new  light  ever  breaking  forth  from 
the  Word  of  God." 

VII.  But  there  is  one  other  way;  Via  Crucis.  It 
was  once  a  narrow  path,  and  few  there  were  who 
found  it;  but  a  great  multitude  whom  no  man  can 
number  journey  there.  The  cross  throws  its  bright 
shadow  all  along  the  way.  Men  and  women,  weary 
of  sin  and  longing  for  pardon  and  peace,  lift  their 
eyes  to  Christ  crucified,  saying,  "Lord,  I  believe!" 
Then  on  they  go,  singing,  "All  hail  the  power  of 
Jesus'  name."  Yet  singing  is  but  an  incident  of  their 
journey.  They  have  a  great  project  on  hand,  nothing 
less  than  the  conquest  of  the  world  by  the  deliverance 
of  souls  from  sin.  In  their  hands  are  sickles  where- 
with they  toil  in  God's  yellow  fields.  They  believe 
in  the  Golden  Age,  in  the  coming  of  the  King,  in  the 
uplifting  of  the  race.  God  is  saving  the  world  by 
them.  Oh,  blessed  copartnership  of  heavenly  grace! 
God  and  they  are  saving  the  world ;  for  are  they  not 
"laborers  together  with  him  "  ?  His  blessing  is  upon 
them ;  his  Spirit  is  with  them ;  his  Pillar  of  Cloud 
goes  before  them. 

"  This  is  the  way  I  long  have  sought, 
And  mourned  because  I  found  it  not  ; 
Till  late  I  heard  my  Saviour  say, 
'Come  hither,  soul,  I  am  the  way.'" 

You  may  hear  the  lamentable  sound  of  stumbling 
in  their  ranks;  for  they  are  sinners  all,  but,  blessed 
be  God,  sinners  saved  by  grace.  On  they  go,  wres- 
tling with  their  baser  selves  and  rejoicing  in  multi- 


"  WHERE    THE    PATHS    MEET,    SHE    STANDETH.       219 

plied  triumphs.  Their  ambition  is  to  live  devout  and 
useful  lives.  Their  gaze  is  toward  the  eastern  skies; 
for  they  "  love  the  appearing  "  of  their  Lord.  They 
ask  no  reward  of  service  but  to  hear  him  say,  "  Well 
done,"  and  be  forever  with  him. 

' '  This  is  the  old  Way ;  ' '  The  way  the  holy  prophets 
went;  the  way  that  leads  from  banishment."  It  is 
the  plain  Way;  as  Isaiah  said,  "  An  highway  shall  be 
there,  and  a  way;  and  the  wayfaring  man,  though  a 
fool,  shall  not  err  therein."  It  is  the  straight  Way; 
beginning  at  the  cross  and  ending  at  heaven's  gate. 
See  them  yonder,  at  the  far  end  of  Via  Cruris — now 
Via  Lucis — passing  into  the  great  glory,  singing, 
"  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul!  " 

We  have  tarried  at  Seven  Dials  long  enough.  We 
have  observed  the  Seven  Ways  of  Life.  We  cannot 
remain  here;  we  must  needs  choose  our  path  and 
move  on.  You  will  rise  presently  and  go  forth  to 
meet  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  another  day. 
Which  road  will  you  take?  ''Come  thou  with  us 
and  we  will  do  thee  good."  To  journey  by  the  Royal 
Way  of  the  Cross  means  the  pardon  of  sin  by  the 
washing  of  redeeming  blood ;  the  building  up  of  char- 
acter by  the  imitation  of  Christ;  participation  in 
service  with  those  who  are  lending  themselves  to  the 
betterment  of  the  world;  and  heaven  to  crown  it  all. 
"We  are  traveling  on  to  heaven  above;  Will  you  go  ? 
Will  you  go  ? "  Are  you  not  weary  of  the  other  paths  ? 
The  Holy  Spirit  speaks:  "This  is  the  way;  walk  ye 
in  it."  Shall  we  go  forth  together,  then  ?  If  so  the 
cloudy  pillar  will  lead  on  until,  with  all  the  ransomed, 
we  shall  come  to  Zion  with  songs  and  everlasting  joy 
upon  our  head.     May  the  dear  Lord  grant  it. 


"WAS  CHRIST  A  CHRISTIAN?" 

"  For  which  cause  he  is  not  ashamed  to  call  them  brethren." — Heb.  2,  11. 

A  sermon  was  preached  by  a  distinguished  Rabbi  in 
the  Synagogue  Emmanuel  last  Sabbath  in  answer  to 
the  question,  "  Was  Christ  a  Christian?"  The  dis- 
course, while  controversial,  was  in  a  spirit  of  admi- 
rable courtesy.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  observe  that  a 
Rabbi  can  speak  thus  freely  among  us  with  none  to 
make  him  afraid.  Our  prayer  for  the  people  whom 
he  represents  is  that  their  eyes  may  be  opened  to  see 
the  fulfilment  of  the  Hope  of  Israel:  and  may  the 
Lord  save  us  from  Anti-Semitic  prejudices. 

The  Rabbi  said:  "All  real  Christianity  died  with 
its  founder  " ;  and  he  proceeded  to  affirm  that  if  Christ 
were  now  to  return,  he  would  not  recognize  current 
Christianity  or  acknowledge  any  of  the  existing  de- 
nominations. This  was  his  answer  to  the  question, 
"  Is  Christ  a  Christian  ?  '  Let  us  venture  to  go  back 
of  his  conclusion  and  also  of  his  premises  to  enquire 
whether  the  question  itself  is  a  fair  one. 

I.  What  is  a  Christian  ?  The  poet  Young  wrote, 
"A  Christian  is  the  highest  style  of  man."  In  Hare's 
"  Guesses  at  Truth  "  a  Christian  is  said  to  be  "  God 
Almighty's  gentleman. "  The  reference  is  obviously 
to  the  ideal  follower  of  Christ. 


"WAS   CHRIST    A    CHRISTIAN?"  221 

A  Christian  is,  to  begin  with,  a  man,  subject  to  all 
the  limitations  of  humanity,  circumscribed  by  the 
common  horizons  of  life. 

He  is  a  near-sighted  man.  His  eyes  are  holden,  so 
that  however  sincere  his  desire  to  apprehend  truth, 
he  sees  "as  in  a  glass  darkly."  The  great  verities 
are  mere  shadows  fleeing  before  him.  He  perceives 
"men  as  trees  walking." 

He  is,  moreover,  a  sinful  man.  What?  In  spite  of 
his  new  birth  out  of  darkness  into  light?  Aye.  Re- 
generation is  a  tremendous  fact  indeed,  but  it  does 
not  extirpate  sin.  It  effects  a  radical  change  in  the 
ruling  purpose;  it  finds  a  man  devoted  to  self-gratifi- 
cation, and  it  turns  him  right  about  with  his  face  to- 
ward righteousness  and  eternal  life.  It  arrays  him 
in  spiritual  armor  and  bids  him  fight  his  way  to  man- 
hood, with  an  assurance  of  divine  help  and  blessing. 
He  has  a  hard  struggle  on  hand ;  not  against  flesh 
and  blood,  but  against  principalities  and  powers. 
His  passions  and  appetites  often  get  the  better  of 
him;  down  he  goes;  and  what  then?  Does  he  sur- 
render? Ah,  no!  He  has  access  to  infinite  resources 
of  strength  and  encouragement;  for  "if  any  man  sin, 
we  have  an  advocate  with  the  Father,  even  Jesus 
Christ  the  righteous."  To  his  feet  again,  and  at  it 
more  bravely  than  ever!  Meanwhile,  sin  is  an  ever- 
present  though  diminishing  factor  in  his  life.  This 
is  true  of  all  Christians;  for  "  if  we  say  that  we  have 
no  sin,  we  deceive  ourselves  and  the  truth  is  not  in 
us." 

He  is,  still  further,  a  churchman;  that  is,  an  associ- 
ate of  other  penitent  sinners.  In  his  life  of  spiritual 
conflict  and  toil  he  feels  the  need  of  sympathy  and 


222  "WAS   CHRIST    A    CHRISTIAN?" 

longs  for  the  uplift  of  mutual  prayer.  Another  may 
feel  strong  enough  to  stand  alone;  but  a  penitent 
sinner  knows  his  weakness.  "Two  are  better  than 
one;  for  if  they  fall,  the  one  will  lift  up  his  fellow:  but 
woe  to  him  that  is  alone  when  he  falleth ;  for  he  hath 
not  another  to  lift  him  up."  Wherefore,  he  naturally 
arid  perforce  turns  his  face  toward  the  fellowship  of 
saints. — But  the  question  arises  "Which  of  the  nu- 
merous branches  of  the  Church  shall  I  join?  Greek, 
Catholic  or  Protestant?  Baptist,  Methodist  or  Pres- 
byterian? "  He  suits  himself.  He  is  like  one  whose 
patriotism  moves  him  to  enlist  in  the  army.  Shall  it 
be  infantry,  cavalry  or  artillery?  What  matters  it  so 
long  as  all  are  under  one  flag?  So  the  follower  of 
Christ,  casting  about  him,  says,  "  1  must  get  into  the 
atmosphere  of  associated  prayer;  must  find  my  place 
somewhere  in  the  great  co-operative  labor-guild. 
Which  Denomination  shall  it  be?  "  He  is  likely,  as  a 
sensible  man,  to  decide  that  the  best  is  the  broadest, 
always  providing  the  red-cross  banner  floats  over 
it;  while  the  worst  is  the  one  which  thinks  itself  the 
best  and  cries,  "The  temple  of  the  Lord  are  we." 

And  being  in  the  church,  the  Christian  finds  him- 
self at  home.  For  are  not  all  his  companions,  like 
himself,  sinners  saved  by  grace  ?  Are  they  not  all 
strugglers,  desiring  to  grow  to  the  full  stature  of 
manhood  in  Christ,  all  coming  short  and  making  the 
same  lament,  "  'The  good  I  would,  I  do  not;  and  the 
evil  I  would  not,  that  I  do.'  '  Sorrie  I  am,  my  Lord, 
sorrie  I  am  '  "  ? 

What  shall  we  say  then  ?  "Was  Christ  a  Chris- 
tian ? "  Could  he  fellowship  with  such  feeble  and 
imperfect  folk  ?   But  we  are  not  yet  ready  to  answer 


"WAS   CHRIST    A    CHRISTIAN?"  223 

until  we  have  made  a  preliminary  inquiry  as  to 
Christ  himself. 

II.  Who  was  Christ?  A  singular  personage  every 
way. 

He  was  a  Man;  yet  his  manhood  was  qualified  by 
a  stupendous  fact;  to  wit,  that  he  was  also  God.  He 
stands  solitary  and  alone  as  theanthropos.  He  had 
been  "with  the  Father  before  the  world  was."  He 
assumed  flesh  for  a  definite  purpose;  for  the  accom- 
plishment of  that  purpose  he  must  become  a  veritable 
man  while  remaining  "very  God  of  very  God." 
And,  having  finished  his  redemptive  work,  he  went 
back  to  "the  glory  which  he  had  with  the  Father 
before  the  world  was." 

He  was  an  omniscient  Man.  He  knew  no  doubts, 
problems  or  questionings.  He  did  not  see  truth  in 
shadowy  reflections,  as  we  do,  but  swept  the  infinite 
horizons  at  a  glance.  All  truth  was  ever  present  to 
his  mind;  indeed,  truth  had  its  primal  source  in  him  ; 
it  emanated  from  him  as  sunlight  from  the  radiant 
orb;  insomuch  that  he  could  say,  "  I  am  the  Truth." 

He  was  a  holy  Man.  In  this  he  was  altogether 
unique.  He  felt  no  unworthiness;  knew  no  accusa- 
tions of  Conscience;  never  prayed  for  the  pardon  of 
personal  sin.  His  challenge  was,  "Which  of  you 
convicteth  me  of  sin?"  To  this  his  Roman  judge 
replied,  "I  find  no  fault  in  him  at  all!"  the  man 
who  delivered  him  to  death,  "I  have  betrayed  inno- 
cent blood!  "  and  the  soldier  who  had  charge  of  his 
execution,  "Verily,  this  was  a  righteous  man!  "  So 
extraordinary  was  the  holiness  of  Jesus  that,  while 
undisputed,  it  has  ever  puzzled  the  ingenuity  of 
scholars.    How  could  it  be  ?    Shall  we  say,  "Potest  non 


224  "WAS    CHRIST    A    CHRISTIAN?" 

peccare"  or  "  Non  potest  peccare  "  ?  Origen  suggested 
that  this  singular  quality  was  due  to  the  fact  that 
Christ's  humanity  was  interpenetrated  by  divine 
virtue  as  red-hot  iron  by  fire.  The  explanation, 
however,  little  concerns  us,  so  long  as  the  fact  itself 
is  conceded  on  all  sides.  He  was  holy,  harmless  and 
undefined.  His  seamless  robe  was  a  symbol  of  his 
flawless  life  and  character. 

The  death  of  Jesus  was  as  extraordinary  as  his  life. 
Others  have  been  crucified,  but  the  world  knows  only 
one  Cross.  Heroes  have  died  bravely,  but  never  hero 
or  martyr  like  this  man.  He  had  power  to  lay  down 
his  life,  and  power  to  take  it  up.  He  died  because 
he  had  determined  to  die.  He  gave  himself  for  the 
life  of  the  world.  He  took  the  entire  sin  of  the 
ruined  race  upon  his  great  heart,  which  broke  under 
the  burden.  It  was  considerations  like  these  that 
moved  the  infidel  Rousseau  to  exclaim,  "Jesus  died 
like  a  God!" 

And  his  posthumous  influence,  also,  is  singular.  For 
nineteen  centuries  all  possible  tests  as  of  fire  and  acid 
have  been  applied  to  his  life  and  character  and  work; 
and  the  testimony  of  history  is,  "I  find  no  fault  in 
him  at  all."  Who  of  all  the  dignitaries  of  the  cen- 
turies can  compare  with  him  ?  Call  the  roll,  and  let 
the  procession  of  the  mighties  pass  before  us.  Then 
call  "Jesus  of  Nazareth!"  and  behold  how  the  others 
shrivel  like  pigmies.  He  is  the  chiefest  among  ten 
thousand.  "No  mortal  can  with  him  compare  among 
the  sons  of  men."  All  the  forces  of  civilization  cen- 
ter in  him.  All  the  light  of  the  nations  is  reflected 
from  the  shining  of  his  face. 

"Was  Christ  a  Christian"  then?    A  thousand  times, 


"WAS   CHRIST    A    CHRISTIAN?"  225 

No!  So  far  above  is  he,  so  far  removed  from  all. 
The  impropriety  of  the  question  is  as  if  one  should 
ask,  "Was  Jehovah  a  Jew  ? "  But  if  the  enquiry  be, 
"Has  Christ  a  warm  heart  for  his  people  ? "  A  thou- 
sand times,  Yes.  How  do  we  know?  It  is  written,  in 
connection  with  his  farewell  interview  with  the 
Twelve,  "He,  having  loved  his  own,  loved  them  to 
the  end "  !  What  forbearance,  what  consideration 
was  there!  He  knew  their  sin  and  weakness.  He 
foresaw  that  Thomas  would  doubt  him,  that  Peter 
would  deny  him,  that  all  would  forsake  him  in  the 
bitter  hour;  yet  he  loved  them  to  the  end. 

If  he  were  to  come  to  New  York  to-day,  he  would 
enter  into  every  fellowship  of  true  believers;  not  as  a 
Christian,  indeed,  but  as  the  Lord  of  all  Christians. 
Their  denominational  name  would  be  as  nothing  to 
him,  if  only  he  were  assured  of  their  love  and 
devotion. 

He  would  come  to  some  of  our  churches  with  a 
scourge  of  small  cords,  no  doubt,  to  drive  out  much 
that  justly  offends  him;  as  it  is  written,  "Whom  I 
love  I  rebuke  and  chasten."  In  some,  where  sumptu- 
ous mummery  and  dumb-show  prevail,  he  would 
gravely  say,  "God  is  a  Spirit;  and  they  that  worship 
him  must  worship  in  spirit  and  in  truth."  In  others, 
seeing  too  much  of  worldly  conformity,  he  would  say, 
"  Be  ye  holy  as  I  am  holy!  Come  out  from  the  world, 
and  be  ye  separate,  a  peculiar  people,  zealous  of  good 
works."  In  others,  where  his  people  have  mutilated 
their  Bibles  and  sought  counsel  at  voiceless  oracles, 
he  would  say,  "  Did  ye  ever  hear  me  call  in  question 
the  inerrancy  of  Holy  Writ  ?  Shall  the  servant  be 
wiser  than  his  Lord  ?     Search  these  Scriptures,  for 


226  "WAS   CHRIST    A    CHRISTIAN?" 

in  them  ye  think  ye  have  eternal  life  and  these  are 
they  which  testify  of  me." 

But  he  would  not  be  blind  to  penitence  or  oblivious 
of  earnest  endeavor.  He  would  utter  words  of 
sympathy  and  encouragement:  "Fear  not,  little 
flock,  it  is  your  Father's  good  pleasure  to  give  you 
the  kingdom."  He  would  take  note  of  the  purpose 
and  aspiration.  He  would  remind  us  of  the  parables 
of  the  leaven  and  the  mustard  seed.  And  without 
doubt  he  would  stimulate  our  latent  energies  by 
calling  to  remembrance  his  great  commision:  "All 
power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  on  earth;  go 
ye,  therefore,  and  evangelize;  and,  lo,  I  am  with  you 
alway,  even  unto  the  end." 

If  he  were  to  come  to  our  churches  to-day,  he 
would  doubtless  address  himself  to  many  of  us  who 
minister  in  sacred  things.  "Preach  me,"  he  would 
say;  "  Preach  my  atoning  blood!  Preach  my  quick- 
ening and  invigorating  Breath!  Preach  the  exceed- 
ing great  and  precious  promises  of  my  Grace!  Why 
will  ye  turn  aside  to  questions  that  are  without  edifi- 
cation? Have  ye  forgotten  how  I  said,  '  I,  if  I  be 
lifted  up,  will  draw  all  men  unto  me'  ? " 

He  would  pass  along  these  aisles  and  look  into  the 
faces  of  many  who  have  been  following  him  afar  off. 
It  would  be  as  when  he  turned  and  looked  on  faith- 
less Peter;  and  we,  like  Peter,  would  go  out  and 
weep  bitterly.  He  would  speak  to  us  gravely  of  our 
responsibilities,  saying,  "Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth; 
but  if  the  salt  have  lost  its  savor,  wherewith  shall  it 
be  salted  ?  "  and,  "  Ye  are  the  light  of  the  world;  let 
your  light  so  shine  before  men  that  they  may  see 
your  good  works  and  glorify  God." 


"WAS   CHRIST    A    CHRISTIAN?"  227 

He  would  stand,  perhaps,  where  I  am  standing 
now,  for  the  vindication  of  his  people.  It  is  a  pleas- 
ure to  remember  how,  when  his  disciples  frowned  on 
the  penitent  woman  who  anointed  his  feet,  he  looked 
around  upon  them,  saying,  "Let  her  alone;  she  hath 
wrought  a  good  work  upon  me!  "  He  would,  in  like 
manner,  defend  the  feeble  and  penitent,  not  only 
from  the  unfriendly  criticisms  of  their  brethren,  but 
also  from  the  aspersions  of  the  world.  For,  "  to 
whom  shall  I  liken  this  generation?  It  is  like  unto 
children  sitting  in  the  markets,  and  calling  unto  their 
fellows,  and  saying,  We  have  piped  unto  you,  and  ye 
have  not  danced  ;  we  have  mourned  unto  you,  and  ye 
have  not  lamented." 

Best  of  all,  he  woula  stand  here,  as  among  his  dis- 
ciples in  the  upper  room,  and  make  this  prayer  : 
'  ''Father,  I  pray  for  them  :  not  for  the  world,  but  for 
them  which  thou  hast  given  mej  for  they  are  thine.  And  all 
mine  are  thine,  and  thine  are  mine  j  and  I  am  glorified  in 
them.  And  noiv  I  am  no  ?nore  in  the  world,  but  these  are 
in  the  world,  and  I  come  to  thee.  Holy  Father,  keep 
through  thine  own  name  those  whom  thou  hast  given  me,  that 
they  may  be  one,  as  we  are.  And  now  I  come  to  thee ;  and 
these  things  I  speak  in  the  world,  that  they  might  have  my 
joy  fulfilled  in  themselves.  I  have  given  them  thy  word; 
and  the  world  hath  hated  them,  because  they  are  not  of  the 
world,  even  as  I  am  not  of  the  world.  Neither  pray  I  for 
these  alone,  but  for  them  also  which  shall  believe  on  me 
through  their  word j  that  they  all  may  be  one ;  as  thou, 
Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in  thee,  that  they  also  may  be  one 
in  us  :  that  the  world  may  believe  that  thou  hast  sent  me. " 

If  these  things  are  so,  what  then?     First;  let  us  be 
humbly  ashamed  of  ourselves,  since  we  have  come  so 


228  "WAS   CHRIST    A   CHRISTIAN?" 

far  short  of  the  possibilities  of  the  Christian  life.  The 
world  is  quite  right  in  asserting  that  we  do  not  live 
up  to  our  professions.  Yet  let  us  not  be  discouraged, 
but  gratefully  confess,  "  I  am  not  what  I  ought  to  be; 
I  am  not  what  I  hope  to  be;  I  am  not  what  I  mean  to 
be;  but  by  the  grace  of  God  I  am  not  what  I  once 
was."  The  gold  is  in  the  crucible:  the  time  is  com- 
ing when  its  brightness  will  reflect  the  Master's  face. 

Second;  let  us  not  turn  our  backs  upon  any  of  our 
fellow-Christians,  since  he  himself  is  not  "ashamed 
to  call  them  brethren."  He  is  very  jealous  for  them, 
insomuch  that  it  is  written,  "He  that  toucheth  them, 
toucheth  the  apple  of  his  eye."  Knowing  our  com- 
mon infirmities,  let  us  be  tenderly  affectionate  one 
toward  another.  If  any  have  gone  backward,  let  us 
prayerfully  seek  to  restore  them.  And  let  us  love 
the  Church  Universal;  for  though  constituted  of  im- 
perfect men  and  women,  it  is  nevertheless  the  con- 
sort of  Christ.  One  of  these  days  he  will  lead  her 
"without  spot  or  blemish"  to  the  Marriage  Feast. 
Meanwhile  let  us  take  heed  how  we  cast  reflection 
upon  her  fair  repute. 

And,  finally;  let  us  never  be  ashamed  of  Christ. 
"  Nay,  when  I  blush,  be  this  my  shame,  that  I  no 
more  revere  his  name."  He  is  "the  first-born  among 
many  brethren"  here;  and  he  will  acknowledge  the 
humblest  of  his  true  followers  in  the  presence  of  the 
universe  assembled  at  the  Great  Day. 

It  is  recorded  of  Joseph  that  when  his  father  and 
brethren  came  from  Beer-sheba,  he  as  Viceroy 
received  them  with  most  distinguished  honors.  He 
was  not  ashamed  of  the  old  farmer  with  his  rustic 
sons  who    came    in    homespun    with  wagons    to    the 


"WAS   CHRIST    A    CHRISTIAN?"  229 

royal  city.  Nay,  he  went  out  to  meet  them,  he 
brought  them  to  Court,  he  introduced  them  to  the 
king,  saying,  "These  are  my  brethren."  So  will 
our  Elder  Brother  receive  us  when  we  go  over  to  the 
Better  Country.  Here  is  his  promise:  "Whosoever 
shall  confess  me  before  men,  him  will  I  confess  also 
before  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven." 


THE  SOVEREIGNTY  OF  GOD 

"  O  Lord,  thou  art  exalted  as  head  above  all." — I.  Chron.  29,  11. 

The  work  of  King  David  was  done.  The  kingdom 
was  about  to  be  handed  over  to  Solomon.  A  solemn 
assembly  had  been  called  at  which  David  commended 
his  son  to  the  consideration  of  the  people  and  dwelt 
with  pathetic  emphasis  on  the  unfulfilled  dream  of 
his  life,  the  building  of  "the  house  magnifical."  The 
address  opened  with  an  invocation  of  singular  beauty : 
'  ''Blessed  be  thou,  Lord  God  of  Israel  our  father,  for  ever 
and  ever.  Thine,  O  Lord,  is  the  greatness,  and  the  power, 
and  the  glory,  and  the  victory,  and  the  ?najesty :  for  all 
that  is  in  the  heaven  and  in  the  earth  is  thine.  Thine  is 
the  kingdom,  O  Lord,  and  thou  art  exalted  as  head  above  all. " 

The  sin  of  our  times  is  irreverence.  We  take  great 
liberties  with  God.  In  prosperity  we  forget  him,  in 
adversity  we  murmur  against  him.  In  our  contro- 
versies we  bandy  his  august  Name  to  and  fro  as  in  a 
game  of  shuttlecock.  We  pare  the  edges  of  his  holy 
Law.  We  stand  at  the  doorway  of  his  oracles,  cry- 
ing, "Yea,  hath  God  spoken  ?  "  Irreverence  is  a  most 
heinous  sin.  It  was  called  nefas  by  the  Romans,  and 
was  regarded  as  a  capital  offense.  Not  murder  itself 
had  so  short  a  shrift.  The  wind  blows  in  a  different 
quarter  now.  Is  it  not  time  to  call  a  halt  and  to  ask 
in  all  seriousness  whether  God  has  any  rights  which 

230 


THE    SOVEREIGNTY    OF    GOD.  231 

earthworms  and  ephemera  are  bound  to  respect  ?  It 
is  important  to  know  God's  place  in  the  universe  and 
our  place  with  reference  to  him. 

I.  He  is,  at  the  outset,  the  First  Cause  of  All.  One 
phase  of  the  current  sin  of  irreverence  is  Materialism. 
Not  a  few  so-called  scientists  are  sedulously  engaged 
in  trying  to  eliminate  God  from  the  problem  of 
nature.  Because  they  cannot  find  him  with  tele- 
scopes and  microscopes,  they  conclude  that  his  being 
is  a  myth;  as  if,  indeed,  God  were  to  be  discovered 
floating  about  like  a  star  or  hiding  somewhere  like  a 
microbe.  In  fact,  he  is  not  far  from  every  one  of  us. 
He  stands  at  the  scientist's  elbow  with  power  enough 
in  a  breath  of  his  nostrils  to  sweep  an  army  of 
cavilers  into  nonentity;  but  he  cannot  be  seen  with 
fleshly  eyes  nor  touched  with  finger  tips.  The  sixth 
sense  must  be  brought  into  requisition;  as  it  is  writ- 
ten, "  By  faith  we  understand  that  the  worlds  were 
framed  by  the  word  of  God,  so  that  things  which  are 
seen  were  not  made  of  things  which  do  appear." 
When  Napoleon,  to  whom  Laplace  had  submitted 
his  system  of  philosophy,  inquired,  "Where  does 
God  come  in?  "  the  answer  was,  "  We  have  no  longer 
any  need  of  God."  But  there  are  two  points  at 
which  a  godless  scientist  is  at  his  wits'  end. 

The  first  is  Creation.  You  say,  "  I  do  not  believe 
jn  creation;  I  am  an  evolutionist."  You  are  prob- 
ably aware  that  evolution  is  as  yet  a  mere  hypothesis 
and  that,  except  by  novices,  nothing  more  is  claimed 
for  it.  Nor  is  it  a  working  hypothesis  as  yet.  At 
frequent  intervals  it  utterly  breaks  down.  It  is  like 
a  railway  along  the  summits  of  the  Andes,  which 
may  look  well  enough  on   paper  but  has   too  many 


232  THE    SOVEREIGNTY    OF    GOD. 

chasms  for  practical  use.  You  have  taken  a  hypothesis 
as  your  first  premise  and  set  out  to  substantiate  it. 
You  smile  at  bridgeless  gulfs  and  chasms;  "  missing 
links  "  are  of  slight  consequence.  You  are  in  search 
of  origins.  Matter  is  a  fact;  the  question  is,  Whence 
came  it  ?  Follow  it  back  to  chaos,  past  chaos  to  the 
nebula,  and  beyond  the  nebula  to  the  primordial 
germ:  what  then  ?  The  difficulty  still  remains.  It  is 
as  hard  to  account  for  an  atom  as  for  a  universe. 
You  are  facing  an  impenetrable  wall  of  darkness;  but 
for  the  theist  a  door  opens  just  there  and,  amidst  a 
burst  of  glory,  he  finds  himself  in  the  presence  of  the 
Infinite.  Here  is  God's  workshop;  and  behold,  he  is 
spreading  out  the  heavens,  hanging  dawns  and  sun- 
sets like  tapestries,  framing  worlds  and  spinning 
them  into  their  orbits.  He  stretcheth  out  the  north 
over  the  empty  place  and  hangeth  the  earth  upon 
nothing;  he  maketh  Arcturus,  Orion,  and  Pleiades, 
and  the  chambers  of  the  south;  he  measureth  the 
waters  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand;  he  comprehendeth 
the  dust  in  a  measure  and  weigheth  the  mountains 
in  scales.  Here,  then,  is  the  solution  of  the  prob- 
lem.   "In  the  beginning.  God." 

The  second  insurmountable  difficulty  of  the  god- 
less scientist  is  to  account  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
present  order.  Law  and  energy  are  inadequate.  Law 
without  a  lawgiver,  order  without  an  administrator, 
effects  without  causes,  an  engine  without  an  engineer; 
these  are  not  merely  illogical,  they  are  unthinkable. 
Furthermore,  they  yield  no  satisfaction  to  a  seeking 
soul.  A  few  days  ago  I  watched  a  broken  spar  mak- 
ing a  vain  struggle  to  reach  the  shore  through  the 
boiling  surf,  beaten  and  buffeted  to  and  fro,  helpless, 


THE    SOVEREIGNTY    OF    GOD.  233 

hopeless,  a  mere  victim  of  the  elements.  So  is  a 
godless  man  in  the  grip  of  insensate  laws:  he  is  help- 
less amid  the  hiss  and  roar  of  machinery.  There  is 
unspeakable  relief  in  the  thought  of  Providence :  "In 
him  we  live  and  move  and  have  our  being."  A  warm 
hand  touches  ours;  and  we  are  led  forth  to  Olivet  to 
hear  him  say:  "Behold  the  fowls  of  the  air;  they 
sow  not,  neither  do  they  reap,  nor  gather  into  barns; 
yet  your  heavenly  Father  feedeth  them.  Are  ye  not 
much  better  than  they?  And  consider  the  lilies  of  the 
field,  how  they  grow;  they  toil  not,  neither  do  they 
spin :  yet  I  say  unto  you,  that  even  Solomon  in  all 
his  glory  was  not  arrayed  like  one  of  these."  In  this 
philosophy  we  rest.  God  is  over  us  and  under  us 
and  round  about  us. 

The  Lord  our  God  is  full  of  might, 

The  winds  obey  His  will ; 
He  speaks, — and  in  his  heavenly  height 

The  rolling  sun  stands  still. 

Rebel,  ye  waves,  and  o'er  the  land 

With  threatening  aspect  roar  ; 
The  Lord  uplifts  his  awful  hand, 

And  chains  you  to  the  shore. 

Howl,  winds  of  night;  your  force  combine; 

Without  his  high  behest, 
Ye  shall  not,  in  the  mountain  pine, 

Disturb  the  sparrow's  nest. 

His  voice  sublime  is  heard  afar, 

In  distant  peals  it  dies  ; 
He  yokes  the  whirlwind  to  his  car, 

And  sweeps  the  howling  skies. 

Ye  nations,  bend — in  reverence  bend  ; 

Ye  monarchs,  wait  his  nod, 
And  bid  the  choral  song  ascend 

To  celebrate  your  God. 


2  34  THE    SOVEREIGNTY    OF    GOD. 

II.  God  is  also  the  Power  Behind  the  Throne.  Here 
we  touch  another  phase  of  irreverence,  to  wit,  An- 
archy. Defiance  of  human  forms  of  government  is 
closely  allied  with  Atheism,  since  the  "  powers  that 
be  are  ordained  of  God."  It  is  true  that  God  does 
not  approve  of  tyranny  and  oppression ;  but  "  order  is 
heaven's  first  law."  Wherefore  we  are  forbidden  to 
speak  evil  of  dignities. 

The  political  fabric  which  God  constructed  for  his 
chosen  people  was  ideal.  It  was  known  as  the  The- 
ocracy, or  "  Government  of  God."  Its  constitution 
was  the  Moral  Law.  Its  earthly  Executive  was  the 
High  Priest,  on  whose  breastplate  was  inscribed, 
"Holiness  to  the  Lord."  Its  center  was  the  Ark  of 
the  Covenant,  over  which  was  the  mysterious  Sheki- 
nah,  the  pillar  of  cloud  in  which  God  manifested  his 
presence  and  from  which  he  made  known  his  holy  will. 

As  time  passed,  however,  the  people  clamored  for 
a  monarchy.  They  wanted  a  visible  king  who  should 
wear  a  glittering  crown  and  wield  a  scepter  and  ride 
in  a  chariot  before  them.  Wherefore  God  gave  them 
Saul  the  son  of  Kish  to  rule  over  them.  But  in  fact, 
neither  Saul  nor  any  of  his  successors  was  king  of 
Israel.  They  were  but  viceroys,  appointed  to  rule 
under  God.  There  is  no  jus  divinum  but  this.  God 
is  the  king-maker;  his  is  ever  the  power  behind  the 
throne.  "By  me,"  he  says,  "kings  rule."  This  is 
recognized  in  all  Christian  monarchies.  Victoria  is 
"Queen  of  Great  Britain  and  Empress  of  India  by 
the  grace  of  God." 

But  what  shall  we  say  of  a  Republic  ?  Our  fathers 
assembled  in  Independence  Hall  to  formulate  a  gov- 
ernment "of  the  people,  by  the  people  and  for  the 


THE   SOVEREIGNTY   OF  GOD.  235 

people."  Nevertheless  a  republic  does  not  derive  its 
authority  from  the  consent  of  the  people  except  as  the 
maxim  holds  true,  Vox  populi,  vox  Dei.  While  the 
members  of  the  Continental  Congress  were  engaged 
in  discussing  the  fundamental  principles  of  civil  and 
ecclesiastical  freedom  with  such  minor  considerations 
as  taxes  and  revenues,  a  suggestion  of  supreme  im- 
portance was  made  by  Benjamin  Franklin ;  to  wit, 
"As  no  government  can  endure  and  prosper  without 
the  blessing  of  heaven,  I  move  that  prayer  be  now 
offered  to  Almighty  God."  This  was  a  just  recogni- 
tion of  the  ultimate  authority ;  For  "  except  the  Lord 
build  the  house,  they  labor  in  vain  who  build  it;  ex- 
cept the  Lord  keep  the  city,  the  watchman  waketh 
but  in  vain." 

In  the  present  juncture  in  our  National  affairs  it  is 
wise  to  remember  what  Thomas  Carlyle  said,  "  No 
government  can  stand  on  the  mechanical  utilities." 
We  are  just  now  searching  for  new  outlets  of  com- 
merce, making  excursions  of  enterprise  into  Asiatic 
waters,  dreaming  dreams  of  national  expansion.  Who 
can  estimate  the  issues  ?  We  are  crossing  the  line  of 
seclusion  into  fellowship  with  the  world-powers.  As 
a  Christian  nation  we  can  have  no  interest  in  "na- 
tional expansion  "  except  so  far  as  it  may  mean  the 
expansion  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  Any  other  view 
is  sordid  and  provincial.  A  great  career  is  before  us, 
but  that  is  not  the  point.  This  is  what  counts:  We 
are  to  have  a  splendid  opportunity  of  serving  God. 
The  responsibility  of  the  hour  cannot  righteously  be 
avoided.  "The  White  Man's  Burden  "  is  laid  upon 
us.  The  poet's  adjuration  sounds  like  an  echo  of  the 
Great  Commission  of  our  Lord: 


236  THE   SOVEREIGNTY   OF   GOD. 

"  Take  up  the  White  Man's  burden — 

Send  forth  the  best  ye  breed — 
Go,  bind  your  sons  to  exile 

To  serve  your  captives'  need  ; 
To  wait,  in  heavy  harness, 

On  fluttered  folk  and  wild — 
Your  new-caught  sullen  peoples, 

Half  devil  and  half  child. 

Take  up  the  White  Man's  burden — 

Ye  dare  not  stoop  to  less — 
Nor  call  too  loud  on  Freedom 

To  cloke  your  weariness. 
By  all  ye  will  or  whisper, 

By  all  ye  leave  or  do, 
The  silent  sullen  peoples 

Shall  weigh  your  God  and  you." 

It  was  four  centuries  ago  that  Spain  began  her 
foreign  invasions  with  the  power  of  the  inquisition 
behind  her.  Two  centuries  later  England  set  forth 
to  the  conquest  of  the  seas.  Her  methods  were 
mediaeval;  her  broadest  purpose  was  commercial 
enterprise.  We  are  not  so  hampered  and  handi- 
capped in  our  new  departure.  This  Republic  has 
the  benefit  of  a  hundred  glorious  years  of  civil  and 
ecclesiastical  freedom.  We  are  a  Christian  nation, 
by  profession  and  universal  consent;  as  such  we 
assume  the  white  man's  burden.  If  we  bear  it  wisely 
and  prayerfully,  who  knows  how  magnificently  we 
may  contribute  to  the  triumphs  of  civilization  and  pre- 
pare the  way  for  the  coming  of  Christ.  To  this  end  let 
us  ever  remember  that  God  worketh  in  us  to  will  and 
to  do  of  his  own  good  pleasure.  It  is  true  that  his 
name  is  not  in  our  Constitution;  but  that  is  a  matter 
of  little  moment  if  his  authority  be  felt  and  manifest 
in  the  hearts  and  lives  of  rulers  and  people.     There- 


THE    SOVEREIGNTY    OF    GOD.  237 

fore  our  constant  prayer  should  be:   "Protect  us  by 
thy  might,  great  God,  our  King!  " 

III.  God  is  furthermore  the  Alpha  of  Truth.  There 
are  only  two  systems  of  theology:  Arminianism  and 
Calvinism  ;  and  these  differ  not  as  to  the  landscape  of 
truth  but  merely  as  to  the  viewpoint.  An  Arminian 
makes  man  the  center;  that  is,  the  sovereignty  of 
the  human  will.  A  Calvinist  begins  at  the  sover- 
eignty of  God.  I  am  a  Calvinist  by  logical  necessity; 
it  seems  impossible  to  me  that  the  solar  system  should 
revolve  around  the  moon.  It  cannot  be  said  that 
God's  love  is  the  center,  nor  his  justice;  for  these 
are  mere  attributes.  God  himself  is  the  effulgent 
focus  from  which  all  great  verities  radiate.  His 
sovereignty  is  not  an  attribute  but  the  condition  of 
his  ineffable  being.  Love  and  justice  are  unavailing 
except  as  He  who  loves  and  judges,  sits  supreme  upon 
his  throne. 

In  a  system  thus  buttressed  by  Omnipotence,  we 
have  a  sufficient  basis  of  Salvation.  If  our  hope  of  a 
blessed  hereafter  rested  on  ourselves  alone,  we  might 
well  fear  and  tremble.  What  is  more  uncomfortable 
than  for  a  little  child  to  run  after  its  mother,  clinging  to 
her  skirts  and  crying  to  be  cared  for?  But  a  child  in  its 
mother's  arms — ah,  there  are  safety  and  happiness. 
The  man  who  hopes  to  be  saved  by  clinging  to  God, 
may  well  speak  of  the  danger  of  "  falling  from  grace. " 
But  if  the  Almighty  shall  somehow  lay  hold  upon 
him,  then  danger  ceases.  "No  man,"  said  Jesus, 
"  shall  pluck  you  out  of  my  hand. — The  gates  of  hell 
shall  not  prevail  against  you."  Wherefore  "work 
out  your  own  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling,  for 
it  is  God  that  worketh  in  you." 


238  THE     SOVEREIGNTY    OF    GOD. 

In  this  we  have,  also,  a  reliable  staff  of  life.  In  the 
philosophy  of  self-culture  there  are  three  cabalistic 
words:  Sin,  Duty,  Character;  and  each  of  these  must 
be  denned  with  reference  to  God.  What  is  sin? 
Lese  majesty;  that  is,  Enmity  against  God.  Thus 
David  cried  in  his  penitence,  "Against  thee,  thee 
only  have  I  sinned  and  done  this  evil  in  thy  sight!  " 
— What  is  duty?  It  is  debt.  To  whom?  To  God. 
All  questions  of  conscience  are  reduced  to  this  ulti- 
mate form,  Will  it  please  God? — And  what  is  charac- 
ter? Godliness;  that  is,  God-likeness.  On  the 
negative  side  it  is  avoidance  of  sin,  on  the  positive 
the  right  discharge  of  duty;  and  both  of  these  are  in 
the  nature  of  a  return  to  God. 

Here,  also,  is  the  working  postulate  of  the  kingdom. 
The  divine  sovereignty  furnishes  a  satisfactory  fran- 
chise for  Missions  at  home  and  abroad.  "  All  power 
is  given  unto  me,"  said  Jesus,  "  wherefore  go  ye  into 
all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature." 
What  is  this  gospel  but  the  proclamation  of  the  grace 
of  one  who  is  not  only  willing  but  infinitely  able  to 
save?  "  How  beautiful  upon  the  mountains  are  the 
feet  of  him  that  bringeth  good  tidings,  that  publish- 
eth  peace;  that  bringeth  good  tidings  of  good,  that 
publisheth  salvation ;  that  saith  unto  Zion,  Thy  God 
reigneth!" 

If  these  things  are  true,  it  behooves  us  to  make 
much  of  God  in  our  thinking  and  living.  Let  us 
walk  softly  before  him.  Let  us  take  heed  and  beware 
of  malapertness  in  the  discussion  of  great  verities;  for 
"fools  rush  in  where  angels  fear  to  tread."  The  man 
who  imagines  himself  competent  to  pluck  the  heart 
out  of  divine  mysteries  will  do  well  to  read  the  thirty- 


THE    SOVEREIGNTY    OF    GOD.  239 

eighth  chapter  of  the  Book  of  Job.  It  should  never 
be  forgotten  that  "the  Lord  our  God  is  a  jealous 
God." 

In  all  our  dealings  with  the  high  and  holy  One 
who  inhabiteth  eternity — and  dealings  we  must  have 
with  him  since  we  were  created  in  his  likeness — let 
us  bow  reverently  as  did  Moses  at  the  burning  bush. 
This  is  the  admonition:  "  Draw  not  nigh  hither;  put 
off  thy  shoes  from  off  thy  feet,  for  the  place  whereon 
thou  standest  is  holy  ground."  Our  burning  bush  is 
at  Calvary,  where  Deity  burned  (yet  was  not  con- 
sumed) for  us.  Here  God  reveals  himself;  his  bound- 
less love,  his  infinite  justice,  his  sovereign  grace. 
Come  nigh,  O  sinner,  and  touch  his  wounded  feet; 
but  no  nearer  !  The  revelation  of  Godhood  here 
rolls  upon  us  like  a  floodtide.  Bow  low,  speak  softly; 
this  is  the  Holy  of  Holies.  "My  Lord  and  my 
God!" 

Now  unto  the  King  Eternal,  Immortal,  Invisible, 
the  only  wise  God  and  our  Saviour,  be  honor  and 
glory  forever  and  ever.     Amen. 


MINT,  ANISE  AND  CUMMIN 

"Woe  unto  you  scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites!  for  ye  pay  tithe  of 
mint,  anise  and  cummin,  and  have  omitted  the  weightier  matters  of  the  law." 
—Matthew  23,  23. 

In  the  Life  of  Dr.  Johnson  there  is  an  interesting 
colloquy  between  Boswell  and  his  great  master,  as 
follows: 

Boswell.  "  Pray,  sir,  did  you  ever  play  on  any  musical  in- 
strument?" 

Johnson.  "No,  sir;  had  I  learned  to  fiddle,  I  should  have 
done  nothing  else.  I  once  bought  me  a  flageolet,  but  I  never 
made  out  a  tune." 

Boswell.  "A  flageolet,  sir?  So  small  an  instrument..  I 
should  have  liked  to  hear  you  play  on  the  violoncello;  that 
should  have  been  your  instrument." 

Johnson.  "  Sir,  I  might  as  well  have  played  on  the  violon- 
cello as  another  ;  but  I  should  have  done  nothing  else.  No,  sir; 
a  man  would  never  undertake  great  things  could  he  be  content 
with  small.  I  once  tried  knotting — Dempster's  sister  undertook 
to  teach  me — but  I  could  not  learn  it." 

There  is  the  homely  setting  forth  of  a  great  truth; 
to  wit,  An  undue  attention  to  small  matters  disquali- 
fies us  for  a  just  consideration  of  more  important 
things.  It  was  just  here  that  the  Scribes  and  Phari- 
sees erred.  They  lived  in  a  time  of  spiritual  declen- 
sion: and,  as  religious  leaders,  they  should  have 
distinguished  themselves  by  holy  zeal.  But  they 
were  not  equal  to  their  opportunity.    The  time  called 


MINT,   ANISE    AND    CUMMIN.  241 

for  men  of  broad  views,  high  purposes,  noble  aspira- 
tions; but  these  were  "  fiddlers,"  as  Johnson  would 
have  said.  They  were  gownsmen,  doctrinaires;  atten- 
tive to  minutest  details  and  particulars.  They  were 
like  the  Preraphaelites,  who  cannot  paint  a  poppy 
field  but  only  a  field  of  poppies.  They  were  like 
that  countryman  who  "could  not  see  London  for  its 
houses."  They  were  little  men,  living  in  a  little 
world,  thinking  along  narrow  grooves,  strenuously 
attentive  to  infinitesimals.  A  glance  at  these  men 
suggests  the  importance  of  Taking  Large  Views  of 
Things. 

The  initial  mistake  made  by  the  Scribes  and  Phari- 
sees was  in  their  Conception  of  God.  Surely  as  Doctors 
of  Divinity  they  should  have  known  him.  They  were 
Professors  of  Theology,  which  is  defined  to  be  the 
"  Science  of  God;  "  but  their  views  were  most  super- 
ficial. God  was  to  them  the  supreme  Ruler  of  a  little 
strip  of  territory  on  the  eastern  border  of  the  Medi- 
terranean Sea;  his  province  was  scarcely  greater  than 
that  of  a  Roman  procurator.  He  had  set  the  Jews 
apart  as  his  chosen  people  and,  unmindful  of  the  rest 
of  humankind,  was  minutely  observant  and  exacting 
in  his  attitude  toward  them.  The  tithe  of  garden 
herbs  was  a  proper  oblation  for  such  an  One. 

It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  we  should  ob- 
tain an  adequate  view  of  God.  We  are  measured, 
indeed,  by  our  conception  of  him.  The  man  who  is 
entrusted  with  a  single  talent  would  never  have 
wasted  his  opportunity  as  he  did,  but  for  his  grievous 
error  as  to  his  master's  character.  He  said,  "  Lord, 
I  knew  thee  that  thou  art  a  hard  man,  reaping  where 
thou  hast  not  sown,  and  gathering  where  thou  hast 


242  MINT,   ANISE    AND    CUMMIN. 

not  strewed :  and  I  was  afraid,  and  went  and  hid  thy 
talent  in  the  earth." 

Our  God  is  a  great  God.  His  greatness  is  unsearch- 
able. He  is  great  in  his  being;  for  this  is  his  name: 
I  AM  THAT  I  AM.— He  is  great  in  his  attributes. 
How  easy  to  say  "Omnipotence,"  "Omniscience," 
"Omnipresence";  but  who  shall  comprehend  these 
heights  and  depths  ?  It  is  to  measure  the  ocean  in  a 
gourd. — He  is  great,  moreover,  in  his  demands  upon 
us  who  were  made  in  his  likeness.  His  word  is,  "  My 
son,  give  me  thy  heart";  and,  behold,  we  offer  him 
mint,  anise  and  cummin! 

The  Scribes  and  Pharisees  had  also  but  a  narrow 
view  of  the  great  truths  which  radiate  from  God.  To 
them  were  entrusted  the  Oracles;  and  it  was  their 
special  function  as  Biblical  Experts,  to  know  and 
explain  great  doctrines  and  precepts.  But  their 
scholarship  was  addressed  to  the  jot  and  tittle.  They 
made  much  of  the  letter  which  killeth  and  overlooked 
the  spirit  which  giveth  life.  They  were  hair-splitters, 
wire-drawers,  monstrous  triflers.  They  did  not  enter 
into  the  great  chambers  of  truth  but  had  much  to  say 
of  superficial  considerations.  So  beggars  stand  hun- 
gry at  the  windows  of  the  bake-shop.  So,  in  our 
boyhood,  we  walked  around  the  tents  of  the  men- 
agerie, hearing  the  roar  and  trumpeting  of  mighty 
beasts,  the  music  of  orchestras,  and  applause  and 
laughter  of  the  audience;  in  which  we,  alas,  had 
neither  part  nor  lot.  These  exegetes  should  have 
remembered  the  saying  that  is  written:  "The  en- 
trance of  thy  word  giveth  light." 

The  successors  of  these  men  are  among  us.  We 
too  have  Biblical  experts  whose  attention  is  given  to 


MINT,   ANISE    AND    CUMMIN.  243 

mint,  anise  and  cummin  to  the  neglect  of  the  weight- 
ier matters  of  the  law.  For  forty  years  we  have 
been  listening  to  the  arguments  of  the  Higher  Critics. 
The  great  truths  that  fill  the  temple  with  their  glory 
have  been  held  in  abeyance  while  theologians  have 
gravely  discussed  the  question  of  flaws  in  the  marble. 
And  with  what  result?  "The  mountain  has  brought 
forth  a  mouse."  Cardinal  Wiseman  said  of  the 
accumulated  product  of  this  controversy:  "  In  all  this 
mass,  although  every  attainable  source  has  been 
exhausted ;  although  the  fathers  of  every  age  have 
been  gleaned  for  their  readings ;  although  the  versions 
of  every  nation,  Arabic,  Syriac,  Coptic,  Armenian  and 
Ethiopian,  have  been  ransacked  for  their  renderings; 
although  manuscripts  of  every  age,  from  the  sixteenth 
century  upwards  to  the  third,  and  of  every  country, 
have  been  again  and  again  visited  by  industrious 
swarms  to  rifle  them  of  their  treasures;  although, 
having  exhausted  the  stores  of  the  West,  critics  have 
traveled  like  naturalists  into  distant  lands  to  discover 
new  specimens,  have  visited,  like  Scholz  or  Sebastian, 
the  recesses  of  Mount  Athos  or  the  unexplored 
libraries  of  the  Egyptian  and  Syrian  deserts,  yet 
has  nothing  been  discovered,  no,  not  one  single 
various  reading,  which  can  throw  doubt  upon  any 
passage  before  considered  certain  or  decisive  in  favor 
of  any  important  doctrine."  A  more  recent  opinion 
of  the  results  of  this  controversy  has  been  expressed 
by  Dr.  Green  of  Princeton,  who  affirms  that  of  the 
propositions  of  the  Higher  Critics  ninety  per  cent, 
have  been  disproven,  five  per  cent,  more  are  in  the 
process  of  demolition,  while  the  remainder  may  be 
regarded  as  a  more  or  less  valuable  addition  to  the 


244  MINT,    ANISE    AND    CUMMIN. 

sum  total  of  our  knowledge.  If  this  be  so,  there  13 
some  reason  to  inquire  whether  the  game  has  been 
worth  the  candle. 

Is  it  not  time  for  laymen  to  lend  a  hand  ?  Why 
should  it  be  so  generally  assumed  that  specialists  are 
the  best  judges  of  comprehensive  doctrines,  when  the 
very  opposite  is  true?  Is  it  not  apparent  that  minute 
scrutiny  and  explanation  of  infinitesimals  may  so  con- 
tract the  vision  as  to  interfere  with  a  just  apprehen- 
sion of  larger  things  ?  Men  who  fiddle  well,  as 
Doctor  Johnson  intimated,  are  not  likely  to  be  accom- 
plished in  such  matters  as  jurisprudence  or  interna- 
tional diplomacy.  The  Bible  is  a  great  book;  it  deals 
with  great  verities,  such  as  sin,  salvation,  judgment 
and  the  endless  life.  These  cannot  be  subjected  to 
the  processes  of  the  microscope.  The  larger  scholar- 
ship alone  can  grasp  them. 

At  one  time  Greece  was  given  over  to  the  Sophists, 
whose  entire  outfit  was  an  elaborate  collection  of 
juggling  catches.  They  applied  their  methods  to  all 
great  questions,  and  would  with  perfect  equanimity 
maintain  the  truth  of  either  side.  The  youth  of  Athens 
flocked  to  their  schools,  and  were  captivated  by  their 
plausible  words.  Then  came  Socrates,  the  reformer, 
who  addressed  himself  in  particular  to  these  learned 
triflers.  He  maintained  the  importance  of  truth.  He 
protested  that  there  was  a  large  and  generous  way  of 
determining  "  between  the  worse  and  better  reason." 
Great  thinker  that  he  was,  sweeping  the  horizon  with 
his  far-reaching  eyes,  he  could  not  endure  quibbles 
and  subtleties.  And  it  was  the  hair-splitting  sophists 
who  put  the  cup  of  hemlock  to  his  lips. 

The  larger  way  of  looking  at  truth  is  not  for  spe- 


MINT,   ANISE    AND    CUMMIN.  245 

cialists,  but  for  the  average  man.  The  expert  has  his 
place,  indeed,  but  not  just  here.  He  goes  into  the 
Yosemite  with  a  geologist's  hammer  and,  busied  about 
"specimens,"  he  cannot  be  expected  to  behold  clearly 
the  magnificence  of  nature.  I  stood  once  on  the 
upper  deck  of  a  steamer,  approaching  the  chalk  cliffs 
of  France,  which  were  reddened  by  the  glory  of  a 
magnificent  sunset,  and  was  lost  in  reverent  wonder 
and  admiration;  a  friend  at  my  elbow,  much  given 
to  scientific  research,  broke  the  silence  with  the  ob- 
servation that  these  cliffs  had  been  formed  by  minute 
rhizopods.  Rhizopods,  forsooth!  So  does  the  small 
scholarship  of  our  time  break  in  upon  the  vision  of 
stupendous  truths.  So  did  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees 
tempt  Christ  with  questions  as  to  "the  sevenfold 
widow  "  and  the  greatest  commandment,  while  he  was 
discoursing  on  the  illimitable  glories  of  the  endless 
life.  Not  thus  let  us  approach  the  Oracles.  The 
things  that  make  for  life  and  character  and  usefulness 
are  here.  "Search  the  Scriptures,"  said  our  Master, 
"for  in  them  ye  think  ye  have  eternal  life  and  these 
are  they  which  testify  of  me." 

Another  mistake  was  made  by  the  Scribes  and 
Pharisees  in  their  Treatment  of  Ethics.  As  lawyers, 
that  is,  expositors  of  the  Mosaic  Code,  it  was  their 
particular  business  to  know  and  teach  rules  of  con- 
duct. In  this  they  were  masters  of  casuistry.  They 
were  scrupulous  in  particulars  to  the  last  degree. 
They  subdivided  the  precepts  of  the  Law;  weighed 
and  measured  and  compared  them.  The  greatest,  said 
some,  was  the  Law  of  the  Phylactery ;  the  least  was  the 
Law  of  the  Bird's  Nest.  They  sifted  and  threshed, 
scrutinized  and  analyzed,  quibbled  and  made  fine  dis- 


246  MINT,   ANISE    AND    CUMMIN. 

tinctions.  They  dwelt  much  on  the  importance  of  ablu- 
tions. The  arms  "must  be  washed  a  pigmy's  length," 
they  said ;  that  is,  from  knuckles  to  elbow,  with  the 
water  dropping  from  the  finger  tips.  Meanwhile,  God 
was  saying  to  them,  "Your  hands  are  full  of  blood; 
wash  you,  make  you  clean ;  cease  to  do  evil,  learn  to 
do  well." 

As  to  the  Sabbath,  they  had  many  toldoth  or  minute 
requirements.  There  were  rules  as  to  treading  on 
the  grass,  as  to  kindling  a  fire,  as  to  the  number  of 
steps  that  might  lawfully  be  taken  on  the  Holy  Day. 
How  like  the  sound  of  a  clarion  is  the  larger  word  of 
the  Master,  "The  Sabbath  was  made  for  man!" 
Here  is  the  criterion  by  which  to  settle  all  questions 
of  Sabbath  rest;  this  is  a  day  for  the  soul,  a  day  to 
bring  us  into  closer  sympathy  with  the  divine  purpose 
concerning  us.  Here  is  no  place  for  trifling  and 
wire-drawing.  "  The  seventh  day  is  the  Sabbath  of 
the  Lord  thy  God! " 

All  similar  questions  of  conduct  were  treated  by 
these  doctrinaires  in  the  same  way.  It  was  a  mere 
tithing  of  garden  herbs.  The  Law  is  the  expression 
of  the  divine  mind.  A  true  obedience  is  that  which 
brings  us  into  closer  fellowship  with  God.  We 
wrong  ourselves  by  quibbling  here.  We  offend  God 
by  our  petty  modes  of  casuistry.  The  Scribes  and 
Pharisees  were  quite  willing  to  bargain  with  Judas 
for  thirty  pieces  of  silver,  but  they  drew  the  line  at 
putting  the  thirty  pieces  into  the  temple  treasury. 
Thus  they  were  ever  straining  out  the  gnat  and  swal- 
lowing the  camel.  Not  long  ago  a  young  man  came 
to  me  with  a  sum  of  money,  requesting  that  I  would 
use  it  for  the  relief  of  the  poor.     A  little  later  he 


MINT,   ANISE    AND    CUMMIN.  247 

came  again  with  a  like  request:   "I  am  a  Christian 
man"  he  said;  "and  would  like  to  be  doing  some- 
thing for  charity."     I  said,  "Do  you  mind  my  ask- 
ing how  you  made  this  money  ?  "    He  replied,  "Not 
at  all:  I  play  the  races."     "You  play  the  races  !  "  I 
exclaimed,    "and    profess    to   be   a    Christian    man! 
How  can   you    follow  Christ  without    praying  over 
your   business?"      He    answered,    "But  I    do    pray 
about  my  business;    I  never  attend  a  race,  without 
previously   getting   down  on  my  knees    and    taking 
counsel  as  to  which  horse  will  win."     He  proceeded 
to  justify  himself  in  this  manner:   "  There  is  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  money  up  on  these  races  and  some- 
body must  win  it.     The  chances  are  that  it  will  pass 
into  the  hands  of  wicked  men.     Why  should  I  not 
get  possession  of  that  money,  since  I  have  told  the 
Lord  that  I  would  give  him  a  tithe  of  it  ?  "     Here  is 
an  extreme  illustration  of  casuistry,  such  as  enters, 
in  less  or  greater  measure,  into  our  common  consider- 
ations of  right  and  wrong.     The  way  to  avoid  it  is  to 
take  the  larger  view.     Virtue,  character,  usefulness; 
these  are  immense  considerations.      Let  these  be  the 
measure  of  our  life.      "  Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth; 
but  if  the  salt  have  lost  its  savor,  wherewith  shall  it 
be  salted?  it  is  thenceforth  good  for  nothing  but  to 
be  cast  out  and  trodden  under  foot  of  men. — Ye  are 
the  light  of  the  world;  let  your  light  so  shine  before 
men  that  they  may  see  your  good  works  and  glorify 
your    Father   which    is    in    heaven."      Here    is   the 
criterion:    nothing  is  right  that  belittles  character; 
nothing  is  wrong  that  glorifies  God. 

The  Scribes  and  Pharisees  were  astray  also  in  their 
Views  of  Worship.    They  were  high  churchmen.   They 


248  MINT,   ANISE    AND    CUMMIN. 

were  punctilious  to  the  last  degree  as  to  rites  and 
ceremonies.  They  made  much  of  bowings  and  genu- 
flections, as  if  these  could  satisfy  God.  It  was  against 
such  trivial  observances  that  our  Lord's  words  were 
directed:  "Woe  unto  you,  Scribes  and  Pharisees, 
mask-wearers  !  ye  are  like  whited  sepulchres,  fair 
without  but  within  full  of  dead  men's  bones  and  all 
uncleanness. "  At  this  point  we  touch  upon  one  of  the 
most  portentous  evils  of  our  time,  to  wit,  Ritualism. 
What  is  that  ?  Lip  service;  the  outward  form  of  de- 
votion with  no  corresponding  regard  for  piety.  It  is 
drawing  near  to  God  with  our  lips  while  our  hearts 
are  far  from  him. 

Down  the  road  from  his  battle  with  Amalek  came 
king  Saul,  who  had  been  commanded  to  kill  all  that 
he  captured,  and,  behold,  he  is  driving  before  him 
the  best  of  the  sheep  and  oxen  and  fatlings.  The 
prophet  met  him,  saying,  "What  meaneth  this 
bleating  of  sheep  in  mine  ears,  and  this  lowing  of 
oxen  ?"  And  Saul  said,  "  I  have  spared  them  to  sac- 
rifice unto  the  Lord  thy  God."  Saul  was  a  ritualist. 
The  prophet  rebuked  him,  saying,  "To  obey  is  better 
than  sacrifice ;  and  to  hearken,  than  the  fat  of  rams. 
Because  thou  hast  disobeyed  the  word  of  the  Lord 
he  hath  rejected  thee." 

A  bandit  of  the  Alps  pursues  his  bloody  calling 
the  year  round  with  no  scruple;  but  on  Good  Friday 
he  appears  in  the  village,  lays  a  tithe  of  his  plunder 
before  the  bambino,  makes  confession,  receives  abso- 
lution; and  straightway  hies  him  back  to  his  pursuits 
among  the  fastnesses  of  the  hills.  The  bandit  is  a 
ritualist.  But  how,  think  you,  does  such  offering  of 
mint,  anise  and  cummin  appear  to  a  just  God? 


MINT,   ANISE    AND    CUMMIN.  249 

In  the  temple  of  ancient  Egypt  was  kept  the  sacred 
crocodile;  attended  by  princes,  fed  with  the  rarest 
delicacies,  adorned  with  chains  of  gold.  When  the 
stupid  thing  died,  the  whole  city  put  on  trappings  of 
woe,  and  drained  its  revenues  for  sumptuous  obse- 
quies. That  was  ritualism:  pagan,  to  be  sure,  but 
quite  as  reasonable  as  much  that  we  are  familiar  with 
in  these  last  days. 

In  the  Anglican  Establishment  a  body  of  "high 
churchmen  "  insist  on  swinging  their  censers  and  up- 
lifting the  mass.  There  is  an  outcry:  "You  are  vio- 
lating the  national  constitution;  you  are  breaking 
your  ordination  vows;  you  are  threatening  the  dis- 
ruption of  the  Church;  you  are  hurrying  us  on 
toward  disestablishment!"  But  what  of  that?  On 
with  the  mummery!  What  are  laws  and  oaths  and 
vows  ?  But  the  incense  that  rises  from  such  service 
surely  giveth  a  stinking  savor  in  the  nostrils  of  God. 

What  is  the  mind  of  the  Master  ?  He  met  the 
woman  at  the  well  of  Sychar,  and  spoke  to  her  of  the 
great  questions  of  the  endless  life.  At  length  he 
touched  upon  her  personal  sin;  and,  as  the  custom 
is,  thinking  to  divert  the  conversation  into  less  pain- 
ful channels,  she  said,  "  Let  us  discuss  a  question  of 
theology.  Our  fathers  worshiped  God  in  Gerizim, 
but  ye  on  Mount  Zion;  now  which  is  right  ?"  Mark 
his  answer:  "Woman,  believe  me,  the  hour  cometh 
when  ye  shall  neither  in  this  mountain  nor  yet  at  Jeru- 
salem worship  the  Father;  for  God  is  a  Spirit;  and 
they  that  worship  him,  must  worship  him  in  spirit 
and  in  truth." 

But  the  crowning  error  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees 
was  in  their  Thought  of  Salvation.     They  were  looking 


250  MINT,   ANISE    AND   CUMMIN. 

for  a  Messiah.  His  coming  was  "  the  Hope  of  Israel." 
All  the  prophets  from  Moses  onward  had  spoken  of 
him.  But  he  was  expected  to  come  wearing  a  golden 
crown  and  with  a  jeweled  scepter.  Lo,  here  he  stands 
before  them:  a  man  in  homespun!  He  is  as  a  root 
out  of  a  dry  ground ;  he  hath  no  form  nor  comeliness ; 
and  there  is  no  beauty  that  they  should  desire  him. 
And  they  ask,  "Is  not  this  the  son  of  Joseph  the  car- 
penter?" Had  Jesus  been  willing  to  pose  before 
them  as  a  good  man  and  nothing  more,  there  would 
have  been  no  outcry  against  him.  But  he  insisted  on 
his  Messiahship;  he  claimed  to  be  equal  with  God. 

Nicodemus  greeted  him  thus:  "Rabbi,  we  know 
thou  art  a  teacher  come  from  God."  This,  however, 
did  not  satisfy  Jesus;  his  reply  was  instantaneous: 
"Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  except  a  man  be 
born  again  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God." 

A  young  ruler,  on  one  occasion,  threw  himself 
before  Jesus,  saying,  "  Good  Rabbi,  What  must  I  do 
to  inherit  eternal  life  ?  "  Good  Rabbi!  More  garden 
herbs.  He  would  have  none  of  it.  "Why  callest 
thou  me  good?  there  is  none  good  but  one,  that  is 
God."  In  other  words,  his  claim  was  Godhood  or 
nothing.  Mint,  anise  and  cummin  would  not  con- 
tent him. 

The  world  on  all  sides  is  willing  to  admit  that 
Jesus  was  a  good  man;  but  to  say  that  and  no  more 
is  to  affront  his  majesty.  It  is  to  proclaim  him  an 
impostor,  in  that  it  rejects  his  larger  claims.  No 
man  can  go  half  way  with  Jesus.  "  If  any  will  come 
after  me,  let  him  deny  himself,  take  up  his  cross  and 
follow  me!  " 

Our   constant  temptation  is  to  minimize  the  de- 


MINT,   ANISE    AND    CUMMIN.  251 

mands  of  Christ.  Let  it  be  remembered  that  he  will 
accept  no  terms  but  unconditional  surrender.  He  is 
nothing  to  us  unless  he  be  our  Lord,  our  Life,  our 
Sacrifice,  our  Saviour  and  our  All.  He  will  not  under- 
take our  salvation  except  as  God's  equal.  This  quali- 
fied acceptance  of  Jesus  was  in  the  mind  of  the  apos- 
tle when  he  cried,  "O  foolish  Galatians,  who  hath 
bewitched  you,  that  ye  should  not  obey  the  truth, 
before  whose  eyes  Jesus  Christ  hath  been  evidently 
set  forth,  crucified  among  you  ?" 

We  conclude,  then,  with  a  prayer  that  God  would 
enlarge  our  scope  of  vision,  that  he  would  enable  us 
to  treat  great  verities  in  a  large  way.  The  word  am- 
plius,  with  which  Michael  Angelo  was  wont  to  reprove 
his  art  pupils  when  their  work  was  of  too  contracted 
sort,  is  the  word  for  us.  Amplius  !  Larger,  broader, 
deeper,  higher!  What  foolish  men  are  we  to  fret  our 
souls  about  the  light  of  glowworms  when  the  sun 
shines  over  us!  Lift  up  your  eyes  and  see.  Im- 
mortality, Duty,  Character,  Heaven,  Glory;  these  are 
splendid  truths.  They  emanate  from  God.  And  the 
boast  of  manhood  is,  as  Keppler  says,  that  we  can 
"think  God's  thoughts  after  him."  He  is  a  great 
God ;  his  greatness  is  unsearchable.  We  are  made  in 
his  likeness  and  after  his  image.  He  speaks,  "My 
son,  give  me  thy  heart!"  Let  us  look  toward  his 
throne  with  high  purpose  and  noble  aspiration.  No 
mint,  anise  and  cummin  for  our  God.  The  best  is 
none  too  good  for  him.  For,  "except  your  righteous- 
ness shall  exceed  the  righteousness  of  the  Scribes  and 
Pharisees,  ye  shall  in  no  wise  enter  the  kingdom  of 
God." 


THE  FIRST  EASTER  SERMON 

"  And  they  said  one  to  another,  Did  not  our  heart  burn  within  us,  while  he 
talked  with  us  by  the  way,  and  while  he  opened  to  us  the  Scriptures?" — 
Luke  24,  32. 

The  road  from  Jerusalem  to  Emmaus  was  through- 
a  region  of  wild  and  rugged  beauty;  but  these  trav- 
elers had  no  eyes  for  it.  "The  noontide  sun  is 
dark  and  music  discord,  when  the  heart  is  low."  A 
great  sorrow  had  befallen  them:  their  dearest  Friend 
had  been  put  to  a  shameful  death.  "  O  for  the  touch 
of  a  vanished  hand  and  the  sound  of  a  voice  that  is 
still!  "  They  were  on  their  way  to  Galilee:  discour- 
aged and  perhaps,  as  Matthew  Henry  says,  "medi- 
tating a  retreat."  They  had  followed  Jesus  in  full 
confidence  of  his  Messiahship  only  to  see  him  tamely 
surrender  to  his  foes.  They  could  not  understand 
how,  claiming  omnipotence,  he  should  have  bowed 
himself  to  the  mockery  and  scourging  in  the  Judg- 
ment Hall;  or  how  he  should  have  submitted  to  the 
agonies  of  the  cross  when,  with  divine  resources  at 
his  command,  he  might  have  called  upon  legions  of 
angels  to  deliver  him.  Indeed,  they  were  sorely 
disappointed  in  him;  they  had  looked  to  him  as 
David's  Son  for  the  restoration  of  the  glory  of  Israel, 
and  he  had  gone  as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter  and  as  a 
sheep  before  her  shearers  is  dumb,  so  he  opened  not 


THE    FIRST    EASTER    SERMON.  253 

his  mouth.  Such  were  the  sorrowful  thoughts  that 
pressed  upon  their  hearts.  So  absorbed  were  they 
that  they  did  not  hear  the  footstep  of  a  lone  traveler 
who  approached  from  behind  and  presently  overtook 
them.  It  was  Jesus  himself;  but  their  eyes  were 
holden  that  they  knew  him  not. 

"What  manner  of  communications  are  these,"  he 
asked,  "that  ye  have  one  with  another  ? " 

They  stood  still,  looking  sad ;  and  Cleopas  an- 
swered, "Dost  thou  alone  sojourn  in  Jerusalem  and 
not  know  the  things  which  have  come  to  pass  in 
these  days  ?  " 

He  said  unto  them,  "What  things?" 

They  replied,  "The  things  concerning  Jesus  of 
Nazareth,  who  was  a  prophet  mighty  in  deed  and 
word."  Then  they  related  the  manner  of  his  cruel 
death;  betraying  their  sore  disappointment  in  the 
words,  "We  hoped  that  it  was  he  that  should  redeem 
Israel."  They  made  mention,  also,  of  strange  rumors 
that  had  come  to  their  ears;  how  certain  women  had 
seen  a  vision  of  angels  who  declared  that  Jesus  was 
alive;  and  how  others  had  gone  to  the  sepulchre  and 
found  it  empty;  but  "seeing  is  believing,"  they 
said,  "and  as  yet  no  one  hath  seen  him." 

At  this  the  Stranger  said,  "O  fools,  and  slow  of 
heart  to  believe  all  that  the  prophets  have  spoken! 
Ought  not  Christ  to  have  suffered  these  things,  and 
to  enter  into  his  glory?"  And  beginning  at  Moses 
and  the  prophets  he  expounded  unto  them  the  Scrip- 
tures concerning  himself.  This  was  the  first  Easter 
sermon,  and  it  is  worthy  of  our  attention  for  many 
reasons. 

I,  It  was  addressed  to  the  Universal  Church.      For 


254  THE    FIRST    EASTER    SERMON. 

what  is  the  church  ?  To-day  in  St.  Peter's  at  Rome 
the  Resurrection  is  being  celebrated  with  much 
pomp  and  circumstance.  The  Pope  enters,  arrayed 
in  magnificent  canonicals,  followed  by  an  imposing 
retinue  of  Cardinals.  Vested  choirs  sing  antiphonal 
hosannas  and  hallelujahs.  The  imposing  edifice  is 
filled  with  clouds  of  incense.  Is  this  the  Church  ? 
Perhaps  so.  But  there  was  a  time  when,  beneath 
that  same  Imperial  City,  a  little  company  of  fugitives 
from  sword  and  fagot  met  in  the  Catacombs  to 
worship  Christ.  On  the  stone  shelves  hewn  out  on 
either  side,  lay  the  mangled  bodies  of  their  martyred 
dead.  The  company  with  muffled  voices  made  their 
prayers  and  sang  praises,  while  the  night  dews 
dropped  about  them  and  the  roll  of  chariot  wheels 
was  heard  above.  A  feeble  folk  they  were,  like  the 
conies,  and  compassed  about  with  fears  and  sorrows: 
but  they  loved  Christ,  worshiped  in  sincerity  and  were 
prepared,  if  need  be,  to  seal  their  covenant  with  their 
blood.  Was  this  the  Church  ?  I  think  so.  "Where 
two  or  three  are  gathered  together  in  my  name,  there 
am  I  in  the  midst  of  them  " :  this  is  the  Master's  defini- 
tion. It  was  seen  in  miniature  in  this  little  company  on 
the  way  to  Emmaus.  The  Romanists  say,  "Where  the 
church  is,  there  is  Christ:  "  but  precisely  the  reverse 
is  true;  where  Christ  is,  there  is  the  church.  Had 
you  been  going  along  the  road  that  day  and  passed 
this  little  group  of  wayfarers  in  homespun,  you 
would  scarcely  have  turned  a  second  look  upon  them. 
Yet  there  was  a  vivid  suggestion  of  the  great  energy 
which  through  the  centuries  has  been  working  for 
civilization  as  leaven  in  the  three  measures  of  meal. 
This    is   the   living  organism  through  which    God's 


THE    FIRST    EASTER    SERMON.  255 

Spirit  is  working  for  the  deliverance  of  our  race:  the 
mighty  Archimedean  leverage  by  which  he  is  lifting 
our  sin-stricken  world  into  the  eternal  light  and 
glory.  And  the  discourse  which  Jesus  preached  to 
those  dusty  travelers,  though  recorded  in  merest 
outline,  must  be  of  absorbing  interest  to  the  Church 
of  all  ages. 

II.  Observe  that  Christ  here  spake  of  "the  things  con- 
cerning himself.'"  In  any  other  preacher  this  would  be 
preposterous.  By  all  considerations  of  just  modesty 
we  are  required  to  hide  ourselves  behind  the  truth. 
It  was  needful,  however,  that  Christ  should  speak  of 
himself  in  this  manner,  since  he  himself  is  the  living 
centre  of  his  Gospel.  Christianity  stands  alone  as 
distinctly  the  religion  of  a  Person.  Christianity  is 
Christ.  He  is  more  than  its  central  fact;  he  is  first, 
last,  midst  and  all  in  all.  It  is  for  this  reason  that 
all  attempts  to  found  a  living  system  on  Christian 
doctrine  or  on  Christian  ethics  apart  from  Christ 
himself,  have  been  lamentable  failures.  Neo-Plato- 
nism,  Arianism,  Unitarianism,  the  Hindu  Somajes, 
"  Ethical  Culture,"  and  Altruistic  Socialism  are  illus- 
trations in  point.  It  is  impossible  to  omit  Christ  and 
save  his  teaching;  for  He  himself  is  the  life  which  ani- 
mates his  doctrine. 

In  this  we  perceive  the  necessity  of  his  resurrection. 
Had  the  record  ended  with  the  cross,  the  system  of 
doctrine  and  ethics  which  he  had  established,  must 
have  shared  his  fate.  Thus  when  Oliver  Cromwell 
died  one  stormy  night  in  September,  1658,  there 
was  consternation  among  the  friends  of  civil  and 
religious  freedom.  His  body  had  been  scarcely  laid 
away  in  Westminster,  when  Charles   Stuart  and   his 


256  THE    FIRST    EASTER    SERMON. 

cavaliers  came  marching  back  to  London  to  assert  the 
jus  divinum;  and  the  Commonwealth — because  it  was 
so  closely  identified  with  the  Great  Commoner — was 
dissipated  like  an  ice  palace  in  the  sun.  But  sup- 
pose that,  as  the  royal  cortege  passed  along  the  streets 
the  Lord  Protector  himself  had  reappeared  at  Temple 
Bar,  crying,  "God  with  us!"  and  rallying  his 
Roundheads  about  him.  How  would  these  cavaliers 
have  fled  like  leaves  before  an  autumn  blast!  This  is 
precisely  what  Jesus  did  when  he  returned  from  the 
sepulchre  and,  meeting  his  disciples,  marked  out  for 
them  the  campaign  of  the  future  propaganda,  saying, 
"All  power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven  and  on  earth; 
go  ye,  therefore,  and  evangelize;  and,  lo,  I  am  with 
you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world!  " 

It  is  obvious,  from  these  considerations,  that  our 
preaching  must  ever  exalt  Christ  as  Center  and  Head 
of  all.  Our  constant  temptation  is  to  turn  aside  to 
trivial  themes.  The  Jews  require  a  sign  and  the 
Greeks  seek  after  wisdom  ;  but  we  must  needs  preach 
Christ  and  him  crucified ;  to  the  Jews  a  stumbling- 
block  and  to  the  Greeks  foolishness,  but  to  them 
which  are  saved  the  very  wisdom  and  power  of  God. 
It  behooves  us  who  are  appointed  to  declare  the  un- 
searchable riches  of  the  gospel,  to  accept  the  homiletic 
rules  which  our  Master  has  laid  down.  And  would 
that  our  people  might  never  ask  for  truth  that  lies 
outside  that  vast  circle  of  light  which  radiates  from 
Christ!  Our  secret  of  success  is  in  the  true  word 
that  he  uttered,  "I,  if  I  be  lifted  up,  will  draw  all 
men  unto  me." 

III.  Let  it  be  noted  furthermore  that  the  Scriptures  fur- 
nished the  sum  and  substance  of  this  Easter  sermon.    '  'And 


THE    FIRST    EASTER    SERMON.  257 

beginning  at  Moses  and  all  the  prophets,  he  ex- 
pounded to  them  in  all  the  Scriptures  the  things  con- 
cerning himself."  It  is  not  to  be  presumed  that  he 
carried  with  him  the  bulky  scroll  of  Revelation;  but, 
better  than  that,  he  had  it  stored  in  memory  and  at 
his  fingers'  ends.  He  had  learned  the  Scriptures  in 
the  Rabbinical  schools  and  memorized  them  at  his 
mother's  knee.  He  loved  them,  he  believed  in  them, 
he  understood  them,  he  made  them  the  man  of  his 
counsel,  he  set  them  forth  as  an  infallible  rule  of  faith 
and  practice.  So  far  as  the  record  indicates  he  never 
uttered  a  word  that  could  prejudice  the  minds  of  his 
hearers  against  their  absolute  truth  and  inerrancy. 
On  this  occasion  he  began  at  the  beginning  and  pro- 
ceeded along  the  luminous  path  of  prophecy  con- 
cerning himself  as  the  Saviour  of  the  world.  This 
was  what  his  doubting  and  bewildered  hearers  needed ; 
for,  as  Trench  says,  "man's  word,  woman's  word 
and  angel's  word  they  had  heard  and  heeded";  but 
they  had  yet  to  hear  and  heed  the  inerrant  word  of 
God. 

It  is  probable  that  Jesus  began  his  exposition  with 
the  protevangel,  "  The  seed  of  the  woman  shall  bruise 
the  serpent's  head";  which,  uttered  at  the  gate  of 
Paradise,  set  forth  in  dim  outline  the  mighty  proposi- 
tion that  God  would  manifest  himself  in  flesh  for  the 
world's  deliverance  from  sin. 

He  called  attention  to  many  predictions  of  his 
singular  birth;  such  as,  "A  virgin  shall  conceive,  and 
bear  a  son,  and  shall  call  name  Immanuel "  (Isa. 
7,  14);  and,  "  For  unto  us  a  child  is  born,  unto  us 
a  son  is  given:  and  the  government  shall  be  upon  his 
shoulder:    and  his  name  shall  be  ca-lled  Wonderful, 


258  THE    FIRST    EASTER    SERMON. 

Counselor,  The  Mighty  God,  The  Everlasting  Father, 
The  Prince  of  Peace  "  (Isa.  9,  6). 

He  noted  the  prophecies  touching  his  life,  character 
and  ministry  among  men;  such  as,  "He  shall  grow- 
up  before  him  as  a  tender  plant,  and  as  a  root  out  of 
a  dry  ground:  he  hath  no  form  nor  comeliness;  and 
when  we  shall  see  him,  there  is  no  beauty  that  we 
should  desire  him  "  (Isa.  53,  2).  Also  the  words  of 
Moses,  "  The  Lord  thy  God  will  raise  up  unto  thee  a 
Prophet  from  the  midst  of  thee,  of  thy  brethren,  like 
unto  me;  unto  him  ye  shall  hearken"  (Deut.  18,  15). 
And  the  words  of  David;  "  The  Lord  hath  sworn,  and 
will  not  repent,  Thou  art  a  Priest  forever  after  the 
order  of  Melchizedek "  (Psalm  no,  4).  And  the 
prophecies  concerning  his  Kingship,  as  in  Daniel's 
vision  of  the  great  image  and  the  stone  that,  crushing 
the  image,  became  a  great  mountain  and  filled  the 
whole  earth  (Dan.  2,  31-35). 

He  dwelt,  no  doubt,  with  special  emphasis  on  the 
predictions  of  his  vicarious  death;  such  as,  "He 
was  wounded  for  our  transgressions,  he  was  bruised 
for  our  iniquities:  the  chastisement  of  our  peace 
was  upon  him ;  and  with  his  stripes  we  are  healed. 
All  we  like  sheep  have  gone  astray;  we  have  turned 
every  one  to  his  own  way;  and  the  Lord  hath  laid 
on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all "  (Isa.  53,  5-6) ;  also, 
"After  threescore  and  two  weeks  shall  Messiah  be 
cut  off,  but  not  for  himself"  (Daniel  9,  26).  He 
showed  how  the  elaborate  rites  and  symbols  of  the 
Old  Economy  were  all  eloquent  of  his  death  and  the 
saving  power  of  his  blood.  Perhaps  he  led  his  two 
companions  to  the  doorway  of  the  Tabernacle,  say- 
ing, "What  is  the  meaning  of  this  lamb  offered  in 


THE    FIRST    EASTER    SERMON.  259 

sacrifice  and  the  blood  flowing  over  the  sides  of  the 
brazen  altar  ?  What  is  the  meaning  of  this  blood 
sprinkled  on  the  golden  candlestick  ?  this  blood  on 
the  table  of  shew  bread  ?  this  blood  on  the  brazen 
ewer  ?  this  blood  on  the  golden  altar  of  incense  ? 
this  blood  on  the  curtain  of  fine  twined  linen  ?  this 
blood  sprinkled  on  the  mercy  seat  ?  "  Aye,  what 
was  the  meaning  of  that  blood  if  it  did  not  point 
always  to  the  Lamb  of  God  slain  from  the  founda- 
tion of  the  world;  if  it  did  not  point  forward  to  One 
whose  death  was  to  expiate  the  world's  sin  ? 

He  must  also  have  emphasized  the  predictions  of 
his  resurrection  from  the  dead.  This  was  the  typical 
significance  of  Aaron's  budded  rod  preserved  in  the 
Ark  of  the  Covenant.  This  was  also  the  prophetic 
interpretation  of  that  strange  episode  in  Jonah's  life 
of  which  the  Lord  himself  had  said,  "As  Jonah  was 
three  days  and  three  nights  in  the  whale's  belly,  so 
shall  the  Son  of  Man  be  three  days  and  three  nights 
in  the  heart  of  the  earth."  Likewise  emphasis  was 
put  upon  the  divine  promise,  "  Thou  wilt  not  leave 
my  soul  in  hell-  neither  wilt  thou  suffer  thine  holy 
one  to  see  corruption"  (Psalm  16,  10). 

But  the  time  would  fail  us  to  indicate  the  multi- 
tudinous references  to  himself  pointed  out  by  this 
great  Teacher  in  Holy  Writ.*     Let  it  suffice  to  say, 

*  The  distance  from  Jerusalem  to  Emmaus  was  about  seven  miles  ;  a 
journey  of  perhaps  two  hours.  This  was  time  enough  for  a  considerable 
setting  forth  of  the  particulars  of  Messianic  prophecy.  Among  the  passages  of 
Scripture  to  which  Jesus  may  have  referred  on  this  occasion,  are  these :  the 
place  of  his  birth,  Micah  5,  2  ;  the  visit  of  dignitaries,  Psa.  72,  10  ;  his  poverty, 
Isa.  S3,  2  ;  his  purity  of  character,  Isa.  53,  9  ;  his  zeal,  Psa.  69,  9  ;  his  ministry, 
Isa.  61,  1-2  and  9,  1-2  ;  his  teaching  by  parable,  Psa.  78,  2 ;  his  miracles,  Isa. 
35i  5-6;  his  rejection,  Psa.  69,  4-8  and  118,  22  ;  his  public  entrance  into  Jerusa- 
lem, Zech.  9,  9 ;  his  betrayal,  Psa.  41,  9  and  55,  12-14  !  the  thirty  pieces  of 
silver,  Zech.  11,  12-13 ;   his  sufferings,  Psa.  22,  14-15  ;  the  indignities  heaped 


260  THE    FIRST    EASTER    SERMON. 

in  passing,  that  we  as  Christian  ministers  and  teach- 
ers fall  short  of  our  great  advantage  if  we  also  do 
not  set  forth  Christ  in  the  Scriptures.  Let  the 
quaint  prayer  of  Nicholas  Breton  be  ours: 

"  I  would  I  were  an  excellent  divine 

Who  had  the  Bible  at  my  finger's  ends  ; 
That  men  might  hear  out  of  this  mouth  of  mine 
How  God  doth  make  his  enemies  his  friends." 

IV.  Let  us  not  lose  sight  of  Christ's  purpose  in  this 
discourse.  He  was  proving  a  "  needs  be  ";  as  he  said 
at  the  outset:  "O  fools  and  slow  of  heart  to  believe 
all  that  the  prophets  have  spoken!  Ought  not  Christ 
to  have  suffered  these  things  and  to  enter  into  his  glory  ?" 
This  was  his  quod  erat  demonstrandum. 

A  fourfold  obligation  rested  on  Christ  with  refer- 
ence to  his  birth,  life,  death  and  resurrection :  First; 
it  was  made  imperative  by  an  Eternal  Decree,  since 
from  the  beginning  God  had  resolved  thus  to  save 
the  world  from  sin.  Second;  the  Scriptures  which 
were  written  in  pursuance  of  that  decree  must  needs 
be  fulfilled.  Third;  the  burden  of  inevitable  Duty 
was  laid  upon  the  heart  and  conscience  of  Jesus  as 
the  ideal  Man.  And  Fourth;  Love  itself  commanded 
and  he  must  obey; — as  it  is  written,  "God  so  loved 
the  world." 

The  plan  thus  marked  out  was  the  only  one,  so  far 
as  we  can  conceive,  by  which  the  desired  result  could 
have  been  accomplished.  So  Jesus  said,  "Except  a 
corn  of  wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and  die,  it  abideth 

upon  him,  Micah  5,  1 ;  Isa.  50,  6  ;  Psa.  69,  21  ;  Psa.  22,  7-8  ;  his  being  nailed  to 
the  cross,  Psa.  22,  16  ;  the  parting  of  his  garments,  Psa.  22,  18  ;  his  intercession 
for  his  enemies,  Isa.  53, 12  ;  his  being  pierced,  Zech.  12,  10  ;  his  burial  with  the 
rich,  Isa.  53,9;  his  ascension,  Psa.  68,  18;  his  exaltation,  Psa.  no,  1;  his 
universal  dominion,  Psa.  72,  8  ;  the  perpetuity  of  his  kingdom,  Isa.  9,  7. 


THE    FIRST    EASTER    SERMON.  26 1 

alone;  but  if  it  die,  it  bringeth  forth  mucn  fruit." 
And  again,  "As  Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the 
wilderness  even  so  must  the  Son  of  Man  be  lifted  up, 
that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish, 
but  have  everlasting  life."  Must  is  the  word.  Here 
lies  the  world's  only  hope,  and  God  stood  pledged  to 
its  realization.  In  vain  do  the  kings  of  the  earth  set 
themselves,  and  the  rulers  take  counsel  together 
against  it;  He  has  declared  the  decree,  "  Thou  art  my 
Son,  this  day  have  I  begotten  thee  !  Ask  of  me  and  I  will 
give  thee  the  heathen  for  thine  inheritance,  and  the  utter - 
?nost  parts  of  the  earth  for  thy  possession. " — {Psalm  2). 

V.  We  have  the  testimony  of  the  two  wayfarers  as  to 
the  effect  of  this  discourse  upon  them.  They  had  set  out 
on  their  journey  from  Jerusalem  with  hearts  as  heavy 
as  if  they  were  going  through  a  graveyard :  but  as 
this  Stranger  conversed  with  them,  hope  revived  and 
they  seemed  to  be  walking  through  the  King's  gar- 
den, amid  the  music  of  murmuring  waters  and  sing- 
ing birds.  The  journey  ended  ere  they  knew  it;  and 
here  they  were  at  Emmaus,  standing  before  the  door. 
At  their  urgent  entreaty  their  Comrade  consented  to 
tarry  with  them.  "  And  it  came  to  pass  as  he  sat  at 
meat  with  them,  he  took  bread,  and  blessed  it,  and 
brake,  and  gave  to  them.  And  their  eyes  were  opened, 
and  they  knew  him." — They  knew  him  perhaps  by 
the  nail-prints  in  his  lifted  hands,  or  by  the  shining 
of  his  face,  or  by  the  kindliness  of  his  familiar  voice. 
They  gazed  in  silent  amazement  upon  him ;  and,  lo, 
he  vanished  out  of  their  sight! 

Then  they  said  one  to  another,  "  Did  not  our  heart 
burn  within  us  while  he  talked  with  us  by  the  way, 
and  while    he    opened  to  us  the   Scriptures?  "     Ah, 


262  THE    FIRST   EASTER   SERMON. 

beloved  friends,  this  is  what  we  want;  the  heart  that 
burns  in  view  of  solemn  truth.  We  are  so  dull,  so 
apathetic  in  the  presence  of  great  verities.  We  are 
like  the  multitude  who  at  Calvary  "stood  behold- 
ing." Would  we  enter  into  a  full  appreciation  of 
truth?  Shall  it  take  possession  of  us,  filling  our  souls, 
as  with  the  speechless  joy  of  glad  discovery?  Then 
let  us  walk  with  Jesus  and  keep  silent  while  he  opens 
unto  us  the  Scriptures;  let  us  be  willing,  without 
cavil  or  questioning,  to  behold  him  in  his  exposition 
of  his  Word.  Let  us  accept  from  his  lips  the  ''''needs 
be"  which  runs  like  a  crimson  path  through  the  blessed 
Book,  leading  from  the  councils  of  eternity,  past  the 
manger  at  Bethlehem  and  the  workshop  and  the 
cross  and  the  rifled  sepulchre,  to  the  open  heavens 
whither  he  has  vanished  to  prepare  a  place  for  those 
who  love  him. 

Have  you,  my  friend,  been  walking  alone  thus 
far  ?  If  so,  give  welcome  to  the  heavenly  stranger 
who  would  join  you.  Have  you  been  absorbed  in 
the  cares  and  sorrows  of  life  ?  Hear  his  footstep  as 
he  draws  near.  He  would  fain  open  to  you  the 
Scriptures  and  reason  with  you  of  the  things  con- 
cerning himself.  So  shall  life  be  made  worth  living; 
no  longer  a  confusion  of  threads  and  thrums,  but 
the  orderly  casting  of  a  shuttle  to  and  fro,  the  weav- 
ing of  a  white  garment  in  which,  by  divine  grace, 
you  shall  yet  appear  at  the  marriage  of  the  King's 
Son.  So  shall  history  seem  no  more  a  mere  discord 
of  fortuitous  events,  but  a  calm  and  irresistible 
movement  toward  an  ultimate  triumph,  an  oratorio 
through  which  runs,  like  a  dominant  note,  the  voice 
of  the  Knight-errant  of  Bozrah,  "I  am  he  that  speak- 


THE    FIRST    EASTER    SERMON.  263 

eth  in  righteousness,  traveling  in  the  greatness  of 
my  strength,  mighty  to  save!"  So  shall  the  future 
open  up  before  you,  as  a  journey  through  the  night 
indeed,  but  a  night  filled  with  music  and  bright  with 
multitudinous  stars  of  promise.  In  the  pathway  of 
those  stars,  we  shall  still  behold  a  graveyard.  God's 
Acre  in  the  distance  is  all  astir;  and  beyond  it  is  the 
city  that  hath  foundations  whose  builder  and  maker 
is  God.  Its  gates  are  open  and  within  sitteth  the 
King  upon  his  throne,  high  and  lifted  up,  bearing 
the  scars  of  his  passion  and  proclaiming,  "I  am  he 
that  liveth  and  was  dead,  and  behold,  I  am  alive 
forever  more,  and  have  the  keys  of  death  and  hell!  " 
And  round  about  him  is  a  great  multitude  which  no 
man  can  number,  ceaselessly  singing,  "  Blessing  and 
honor  and  glory  and  power  be  unto  him  that  liveth 
forever  and  ever!     Amen." 


THE  GREAT  LAW  OF  CHRIST 

"  Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens,  and  so  fulfil  the  law  of  Christ.  For  if  a 
man  think  himself  to  be  something,  when  he  is  nothing,  he  deceiveth  himself. 
But  let  every  man  prove  his  own  work,  and  then  shall  he  have  rejoicing  in 
himself  alone,  and  not  in  another.  For  every  man  shall  bear  his  own  burden." 
— Galatians  6,  2-5. 

A  controversy  had  been  going  on  among  the 
Christians  of  the  Galatian  Churches  as  to  the  neces- 
sity of  obedience  to  the  Ceremonial  Law.  Not  a  few 
were  of  the  opinion  that  all  candidates  for  admission 
to  the  Church  should  be  made  to  pass  through  the 
little  wicket-gate  of  Mosaism ;  that  is,  to  observe  its 
prescriptions  as  to  fasting,  circumcision  and  the  like. 
The  apostle  says,  "  If  you  want  a  law,  let  me  suggest 
one  that  will  adequately  employ  your  energies,  a 
large  and  comprehensive  law  worthy  of  broad-minded 
men;  namely,  the  Great  Law  of  Christ." 

Many  Galatians  who  professed  to  be  Christians, 
were  bringing  reproach  upon  the  Gospel  by  walking 
unworthily.  Some  who  had  come  out  of  the  bondage 
of  Judaism,  were  more  devoted  to  the  external  forms 
of  religion  than  to  the  weightier  matters  of  righteous- 
ness; others  who  had  been  converted  from  Paganism, 
were  yielding  themselves  to  the  vices  of  their  former 
life.  What  should  be  done  ?  The  ready  answer 
would  be,  "Let  them  be  excommunicated."  And, 
indeed,  Paul  would  be   the  last   man   to   deny  the 

264 


THE    GREAT    LAW    OF    CHRIST.  265 

importance  of  wise  discipline.  But  "alas  for  the 
rarity  of  Christian  charity  under  the  sun."  The 
kinder  methods  should  first  be  exhausted.  "  If  a 
man  be  overtaken  in  a  fault,"  says  Paul,  "ye  which 
are  spiritual  restore  such  an  one  in  the  spirit  of  meek- 
ness."  Just  here  he  suggests,  for  the  solution  of  the 
difficulty,  the  Law  of  Christ.  It  is  called  by  Apostle 
James,  "The  Royal  Law";  he  says,  "If  ye  fulfill 
the  royal  law,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thy- 
self, ye  shall  do  well,"  (James  2,  8). 

This  Law  of  Christ  as  related  to  the  Law  of 
Moses,  was  illustrated  in  the  case  of  the  adulterous 
woman  whom  the  enemies  of  Jesus  brought  to  him 
as  he  was  teaching  in  Solomon's  Porch.  "  Moses  in  the 
Law,"  they  said,  "commanded  us  that  such  should 
be  stoned ;  but  what  sayest  thou  ? "  In  his  reply 
there  was  no  minimizing  of  the  offense  but  the  saving 
wisdom  of  mercy:  "Let  him  that  is  without  sin  cast 
the  first  stone  at  her."  See  them  stealing  away,  self- 
convicted,  beginning  at  the  eldest!  Then  to  the 
woman  he  said,  "Go,  and  sin  no  more." 

The  Law,  thus  exemplified  by  Christ  himself,  is  set 
forth  by  his  apostle  in  three  propositions,  as  follows: 

The  first  is  this :  '  ''Every  man  shall  bear  his  owti  burden. " 
Here  is  an  announcement  of  the  vital  duty  of  per- 
sonal independence.  "Every  man  for  himself"  is  a 
much  abused  precept;  but  there  is  a  great  truth  in  it. 
We  are  like  soldiers  on  the  march.  It  devolves  on 
every  one  to  shoulder  his  own  musket  and  bear  his 
own  knapsack.  There  must  be  no  shirking,  no 
murmuring  or  complaining.  "Every  man  for  him- 
self "  is  a  rule  to  be  recognized  in  all  the  important 
affairs  of  life. 


266  THE    GREAT    LAW    OF   CHRIST. 

As  to  pain,  poverty,  bereavement  and  the  like: 
there  is  much  to  be  said  for  the  teaching  of  the  Stoics, 
"  What  can't  be  cured  must  be  endured."  A  mother 
would  gladly  bear  the  suffering  of  her  ailing  child, 
but  this  she  cannot  do.  "  Each  for  himself  "  is  the 
order  of  nature.  An  Indian  at  the  stake,  smiling 
scornfully  amid  the  flames  which  his  foes  have 
kindled  about  him,  is  a  true  philosopher.  What  is 
there  to  do,  indeed,  but  to  make  the  best  of  it  ? 
Much  of  the  misery  of  life  comes  from  our  assuming 
a  wrong  attitude  toward  such  inevitable  facts. 
Wealth  that  has  vanished  would  better  be  forgotten. 
If  a  physical  malady  be  incurable,  the  wisest  course 
is  to  submit  and  prepare  for  the  sequel.  Here  are 
burdens  for  us  to  bear  without  complaint.  My  friend, 
brace  up  to  your  burden  like  a  man.  God  alone  can 
help  you.  The  sole  consolation  is  that  your  Heavenly 
Father  knows,  stands  by  and  promises,  "My  grace 
shall  be  sufficient  for  thee." 

And  there  are  moral  responsibilities,  also,  which 
are  intransferable.  Duty  is  a  personal  matter.  A 
man  lives  in  a  world  of  responsibility  which  is  wholly 
his  own.  Teh  bin  Ich.  It  is  impossible  to  serve  God 
by  proxy.  The  great  sin  of  Christian  people  is 
shirking.  It  is  a  common  saying  that  nine-tenths  of 
the  work  of  the  Christian  church  is  done  by  one- 
tenth  of  its  members.  If  this  be  true,  then  nine- 
tenths  of  Christ's  people  are  shirking  their  responsi- 
bility. If  you  are  a  Christian,  my  friend,  get  under 
your  burden  and  bear  it.  Don't  cringe,  don't  com- 
plain, don't  shirk.  No  man  can  do  your  duty  for 
you  any  more  than  he  can  eat,  drink  or  sleep  for  you. 
"  You  have  a  work  that  no  other  can  do." 


THE   GREAT    LAW    OF   CHRIST.  267 

It  is  related  that  when  the  Duke  of  Wellington  was 
ordered  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  a  young  officer 
in  his  regiment  applied  for  leave  of  absence.  The 
Duke  made  this  laconic  reply,  "Sail  or  sell."  Let 
us  be  grateful  that  God  is  so  wonderfully  patient  with 
us.  If  the  policy  of  the  Iron  Duke  were  to  be  en- 
forced among  the  churches,  what  disturbance  there 
would  be!  Our  Lord  expects  every  man  to  do  his 
duty;  and  his  requirement  is  greatly  emphasized  by 
the  fact  that  he  promises  all  necessary  help,  saying, 
"As  thy  day,  so  shall  thy  strength  be." 

As  to  temptation  also:  A  man  must  fight  his  own 
battle  with  the  world,  the  flesh  and  the  devil.  "There 
is  no  discharge  in  this  war."  Here  is  the  test  of  man- 
hood. This  is  my  own  fight;  and  my  strength  is  in 
the  Saxon  motto,  "Will,  God  and  I  can!"  Saul's 
armor  will  be  of  no  avail.  I  must  go  out  for  myself 
against  the  giant  of  Gath.  But  nothing  is  required 
of  me  beyond  the  possibilities  of  courage.  No  temp- 
tation is  permitted  beyond  what  I  am  able  to  bear. 
Let  me  go  forth  in  the  strength  of  Jehovah  alone  and 
I  shall  come  back,  like  David  from  the  valley  of  Elah, 
dragging  the  gory  head  of  the  adversary  by  its  shaggy 
locks.  This  is  the  gospel  of  manliness.  Lift  thy 
burden  and  bear  it.  Be  strong.  Quit  thyself  like  a 
man. 

The  second  proposition  of  the  Great  Law  is  this :  ' '  Bear 
ye  one  another's  burdens.'"  For,  after  all,  we  cannot 
escape  the  important  fact  of  mutual  dependence  and 
interdependence.  Did  I  say  we  are  an  army  on  the 
march?  Aye,  comrades  all.  And  if  one  at  my  side 
staggers  under  the  heat  and  burden  of  the  day,  what 
then  ?     In  the  name  of  comradeship  give  him  a  lift! 


268  THE    GREAT    LAW    OF    CHRIST. 

Put  your  canteen  to  his  lips,  shoulder  his  musket, 
strap  his  knapsack  to  your  back.  For  the  strong 
should  bear  the  burdens  of  the  weak. 

The  church  is  likened  to  a  body;  as  it  is  written, 
"The  body  is  not  one  member  but  many.  So  that 
the  eye  cannot  say  unto  the  hand,  I  have  no  need  of 
thee:  nor  again  the  head  to  the  feet,  I  have  no  need 
of  you.  But  God  hath  tempered  the  body  together, 
that  there  should  be  no  schism  in  it;  but  that  the 
members  should  have  the  same  care  one  for  another. 
And  whether  one  member  suffer,  all  the  members  suf- 
fer with  it,  or  one  member  be  honored,  all  the  mem- 
bers rejoice  with  it." 

The  Great  Law  here  referred  to  is  exemplified  in 
sympathy.  We  are  exhorted  to  "  rejoice  with  them 
that  do  rejoice  and  weep  with  them  that  weep." 
Who  shall  estimate  the  power  of  a  warm  hand-clasp 
in  the  hour  of  adversity?  "And  a  word  in  due  sea- 
son, how  good  it  is;  it  is  like  apples  of  gold  in  a  sil- 
ver basket."  The  world  is  full  of  sufferers,  prisoners 
of  poverty,  victims  of  misfortune;  and  a  kind  word 
costs  so  little.  It  was  for  lack  of  sympathy  that  poor 
Robert  Burns,  weak  by  nature,  spoiled  by  adulation, 
driven  hither  and  thither  by  mighty  passions,  was 
forced  out  of  Christian  fellowship  and  moved  to 
resentful  philippics  against  it. 

"  O  ye  wha  are  so  guid  yersels, 
Sae  pious  and  sae  holy, 
Ye've  naught  to  do  but  mark  and  tell 
Your  neebor's  fauts  and  folly." 

Who  knows  but  a  kindly  word,  a  due  regard  for  his 
peculiar  nature  and  circumstances,  an  earnest  entreaty, 
might  have  changed  the  tenor  of  his  life  ? 


THE    GREAT    LAW    OF    CHRIST.  269 

But  sympathy  is  not  enough;  there  must  be  practi- 
cal beneficence.  To  a  starving  beggar  an  ounce  of 
bread  is  worth  a  ton  of  commiseration.  An  old  woman 
who  had  known  Oliver  Goldsmith  when  he  was  a 
student  of  medicine,  called  on  him  long  afterward  in 
behalf  of  her  husband,  who,  as  she  said,  was  suffering 
from  loss  of  appetite  and  melancholy.  He  went  with 
her  to  the  bedside,  made  his  diagnosis  and  presently 
sent  her  a  box  containing  ten — borrowed — guineas, 
marked,  "Pills:  To  be  taken  as  necessity  requires. 
And  be  of  good  courage."  It  is  burden -bearing 
like  this  that  makes  the  whole  world  kin.  It  is  this 
that  binds  the  Church  together  in  the  true  fellowship 
of  Christ. 

We  share  our  mutual  woes, 

Our  mutual  burdens  bear, 
And  often  for  each  other  flows 

The  sympathizing  tear. 

The  third  proposition,  without  which  the  two  former 
would  be  antagonistic,  is  this :  A  part  of  every  man's 
burden  is  to  share  the  burden  of  the  next  man.  It  is  im- 
possible to  separate  individual  from  social  duty.  One 
who  undertakes  to  bear  his  own  burden,  with  no 
regard  for  the  burdens  of  others,  will  be  sure  to  fail. 
A  selfish  Christian  is  a  contradiction  of  terms.  The 
true  Christian  is  a  member  of  the  body  of  Christ,  so 
closely  associated  with  his  fellows  that  all  their  inter- 
ests are  his.  It  is  like  the  intercommunication  kept 
up  in  our  physical  organism  by  the  nervous  system, 
so  that  if  one  tread  upon  my  foot,  the  pain  goes  flying 
along  the  electric  wires  of  sympathy  clear  to  the 
finger  tips. 

Here  is  where  the  Anchorites  made  their  fatal  error. 


270  THE    GREAT    LAW    OF    CHRIST. 

The  man  who  retires  to  solitude  for  self-culture  flies 
from  his  burden.  Our  Lord  frequented  the  great 
centers  of  life.  He  joined  himself  to  the  multitudes 
who  were  going  up  to  the  annual  feasts.  He  visited 
the  porches  of  Bethesda.  He  came  up  close  to  the 
beating  heart  of  humanity.  He  heard  the  cry  for 
help  on  every  side  and  sought  to  relieve  it.  No 
greater  mistake  can  be  made  than  to  imagine  that  we 
are  imitating  Christ  when  we  retire  from  the  world  to 
read  mystical  literature  and  devote  ourselves  to  "  the 
deepening  of  the  spiritual  life." 

The  Great  Law  of  Christ  is  so-called  for  three 
reasons:  First,  because  he  gave  it. — Second,  because 
he  exemplified  it  in  his  own  life  among  men.  He 
bore  his  own  burden;  for,  indeed,  there  was  a 
burden  which  he  alone  could  bear;  in  which  no 
friendship  could  relieve  him.  At  the  gateway  of 
Gethsemane  he  said  to  his  disciples,  "Tarry  ye 
here  while  I  go  and  pray  yonder."  And  there, 
under  the  deep  shadow  of  the  olive-trees,  he  drank  his 
bitter  cup;  as  it  is  written,  "I  have  trodden  the  wine- 
press alone  and  of  the  people  there  was  none  with 
me."  He  made  no  complaint,  no  murmuring.  His 
prayer  was,  "If  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from 
me;  "  but  when  it  became  manifest  that  the  bitterness 
of  death  was  the  necessary  condition  of  the  world's 
redemption,  he  calmly  acquiesced,  saying,  "  O  my 
Father,  not  my  will  but  thine  be  done."  And  there- 
upon he  set  his  face  steadfastly  toward  the  cross. 
Such  was  the  courage  of  the  Perfect  Man. — But 
furthermore  he  exemplified  the  Great  Law  in  bear- 
ing the  burden  of  others.  It  is  written  "  He  bare 
our  griefs  and  carried  our  sorrows.     We  did  esteem 


THE    GREAT    LAW    OF    CHRIST.  27  I 

him  stricken,  smitten  of  God  and  afflicted;  but  he 
was  wounded  for  our  transgressions  and  bruised  for 
our  iniquities.  The  chastisement  of  our  peace  was 
upon  him."  His  heart  went  out  toward  all  sufferers. 
His  ears  were  open  to  every  cry  for  relief.  He  fed 
the  hungry,  opened  the  eyes  of  the  blind,  wiped  away 
the  leper's  spots,  ministered  to  sorrow,  wept  by  the 
open  grave ;  and  at  last  he  climbed  up  Calvary  stagger- 
ing under  the  burden  of  the  whole  world's  sin.  Ah, 
that  was  the  sublimest  deed  of  sympathy,  of  self- 
sacrifice,  of  practical  beneficence,  that  the  world  ever 
saw.  His  heart  broke  in  compassion  for  the  world's 
pain,  and  his  hands  were  stretched  out  in  divinest 
charity  to  all  the  children  of  men. — And  third,  the 
Great  Law  of  Christ  is  so  called  because  he  laid  it 
down  as  the  fundamental  principle  of  his  Kingdom. 
The  universal  observance  of  this  Law  will  bring  in  the 
Millennium.  It  corresponds  to  the  physical  Law  of 
Gravitation,  by  which  all  the  worlds  of  the  solar  system 
are  kept  in  proper  relation  to  each  other  and  to  the 
central  sun.  If  those  for  whom  Jesus  died  were  under 
the  domination  of  this  Law,  as  the  stars  of  heaven  are 
under  the  control  of  gravity,  there  would  not  be  one 
lost  or  wayward  soul  in  the  universe.  This  was  in  the 
mind  of  Jesus  when  he  said,  "I  pray  for  these;  that 
they  all  may  be  one;  even  as  thou,  Father,  art  in  me 
and  I  in  thee,  that  they  also  may  be  one  in  us:  that 
the  world  may  believe  that  thou  didst  send  me." 

In  the  Great  Law,  thus  briefly  stated,  we  find  the 
sum  and  substance  of  the  duties  of  the  Christian  life. 
Our  success  in  right  living  is  measured  by  our  imita- 
tion of  Christ  as  the  Burden-bearer.  Mere  sentiment 
is  little  worth.     Our  religion  is  a  matter  of  practical 


272  THE    GREAT    LAW    OF    CHRIST. 

import;  it  is  to  do  good  as  we  have  opportunity  unto 
all  men.  St.  Francis  of  Assisi  is  said  to  have  retired 
from  all  human  fellowship  in  his  desire  to  attain  to  the 
higher  life.  He  gave  himself  up  in  solitude  to  pen- 
ance and  maceration.  He  lashed  his  body  for  the 
sins  of  his  soul.  He  fasted  and  wept.  At  length,  as 
he  knelt  under  his  crucifix,  the  sign  of  divine  approval 
is  said  to  have  been  given  him.  He  rose  with  the 
stigmata  in  the  palms  of  his  hands.  The  legend  is 
false;  the  process  is  impossible.  The  nail-prints  are 
not  thus  given  in  solitude.  Nor  is  it  by  this  method 
that  we  enter  into  the  fellowship  of  Christ's  suffer- 
ing. We  come  into  sympathy  with  him  in  the  thick 
of  the  world's  conflict.  We  die  with  him  when  our 
hearts  break  in  sympathetic  touch  with  the  world's 
agonizing  heart.  This  is  "the  cure  of  souls";  this 
is  the  law  of  charity;  this  is  the  fellowship  of  Christ. 
He  entered  into  our  estate;  he  passed  under  the 
lintel  of  human  homes,  toiled  in  the  workshop,  joined 
the  company  of  wayfaring  men,  knelt  by  the  bedsides 
of  the  sick  and  dying,  gave  comfort  to  the  sorrowing 
in  God's  Acre.  This  was  his  burden  because  it  was 
the  burden  of  his  fellow-men. 

Our  invitation  to  the  Christian  life  is  couched  in 
such  terms  as  suggest  the  Great  Law:  "Come  unto 
me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,"  that  is, 
weary  with  bearing  the  burdens  of  life,  "and  I  will 
give  you  rest."  But  this  rest  is  no  exemption  from 
burden-bearing,  for  he  immediately  adds,  "  Take  my 
yoke  upon  you  and  learn  of  me;  for  I  am  meek  and 
lowly  of  heart,  and  ye  shall  find  rest  unto  your  souls. " 
Our  rest  then  is  in  our  fellowship  with  Christ  in  the 
bearing  of  life's  burden,  our  own  and  others'.     "  For 


THE    GREAT    LAW    OF    CHRIST.  273 

my  yoke  is  easy,"  easy  because  a  yoke  is  ever  for  two. 
He  stands  beside  me,  helping  me  to  bear  it.  Aye, 
blessed  Lord,  the  yoke  is  half  thine  and  half  mine; 
and  the  burden  too;  wherefore  thou  sayest  truly, 
"  My  yoke  is  easy  and  my  burden  is  light." 


THE  LOGIC  OF  EVENTS 

"The  Pharisees  also  with  the  Sadducees  came,  and  tempting  desired  him 
that  he  would  show  them  a  sign  from  heaven.  He  answered  and  said  unto 
them,  When  it  is  evening,  ye  say,  It  will  be  fair  weather :  for  the  sky  is  red. 
And  in  the  morning,  It  will  be  foul  weather  to-day :  for  the  sky  is  red  and 
lowering.  O  ye  hypocrites,  ye  can  discern  the  face  of  the  sky  ;  but  can  ye  not 
discern  the  signs  of  the  times  ?  " — Matthew  16,  1-3. 

It  is  the  part  of  wisdom  to  interpret  signs.  He  is  a 
poor  skipper  who,  trusting  to  his  compass,  makes  no 
observation  of  the  heavens.  He  is  a  poor  ranchman 
who  does  not  round  up  his  cattle  or  fold  his  sheep 
when  the  thickening  air  tells  of  a  coming  storm.  A 
week  ago,  in  Virginia,  I  saw  a  bunch  of  wild  violets 
in  the  hand  of  a  little  maid  ;  and  straightway  the  ver- 
dant forests  and  the  blooming  fields  were  all  before 
me,  and  I  heard  Charles  of  Orleans  singing: 

"  The  Time  hath  laid  his  mantle  by 
Of  wind  and  rain  and  icy  chill ; 
And  stream  and  fountain,  brook  and  rill, 
All  in  their  new  apparel  vie  ; 
For  Time  hath  laid  his  mantle  by." 

He  is  but  a  poor  reader  of  the  newspapers  who 
cannot  dream  dreams  and  see  visions  between  the 
lines.  The  duty  of  the  hour  is  suggested  by  current 
events,  as  clearly  as  a  farmer's  tasks  from  the  mar- 
ginal references  of  The  Farmer's  Almanac ;  "Now  plant 
corn"  or  "Now  gather  in  your  barley." 

874 


THE    LOGIC    OF    EVENTS.  275 

At  the  time  of  our  context  a  great  crisis  in  Jewish 
history  had  come,  and  the  religious  leaders  did  not 
know  it.  They  were  familiar  with  the  wisdom  of  the 
schools,  but  could  not  "  take  an  observation."  So  busy 
were  they  with  minute  inspection  of  the  jot  and  tittle 
of  ceremonial  requirement  that  they  were  in  grave 
danger  of  overlooking  the  advent  of  their  long- 
expected  Christ.  The  fulness  of  time  was  at  hand ; 
the  scepter,  falling  from  the  trembling  hand  of 
Judah,  had  signaled  the  great  event;  the  seventy 
weeks  of  years  spoken  of  by  Daniel  the  prophet  were 
accomplished ;  there  was  a  universal  feeling  of  expect- 
ancy; a  star  had  risen  out  of  Jacob;  the  voice  of 
Elias  the  forerunner  had  been  lifted  up  in  the  wilder- 
ness. But  these  soothsayers  had  lost  their  cunning: 
they  were  weatherwise  but  stupid  in  spiritual  things. 
Thus  Jesus  reproved  them:  "At  evening  ye  say,  It 
will  be  fair  weather:  for  the  sky  is  red.  And  in  the 
morning,  It  will  be  foul  weather:  for  the  sky  is  red 
and  lowering.  O  ye  pretenders,  can  ye  not  discern 
the  signs  of  the  times  ?  " 

We  are  drawing  near  to  the  border  line  of  the  cen- 
turies; and  there  is  a  universal  conviction  that 
mighty  events  are  before  us.  The  last  century  was 
marked  by  the  introduction  of  new  forces  in  the 
province  of  spiritual  as  of  material  things.  Steam 
and  electricity,  inventions  and  discoveries  were  paral- 
leled by  the  development  of  great  spiritual  energies. 
With  this  propulsion,  who  shall  prophesy  the  forth- 
comings of  the  next  century  ?  "  Men  of  thought  and 
men  of  action,  clear  the  way." 

One  of  the  most  significant  Signs  of  the  Times  is  the 
Opening  of  the  Doors  of  the  Nations.     A  familiar  prayer 


276  THE    LOGIC    OF    EVENTS. 

in  the  Missionary  Concerts  of  forty  years  ago  was 
that  God  would  prepare  the  way  for  the  propagation 
of  the  gospel  and  incline  the  Pagan  nations  to  receive 
it.  That  prayer  is  obsolete.  The  great  gates  have 
rolled  back  on  their  hinges  and  the  messengers  of 
salvation  may  go  without  let  or  hindrance  to  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth. 

One  hundred  and  sixty  years  ago  an  epoch-making 
book  was  published,  entitled,  "An  Inquiry  into  the 
Obligation  of  Christians  to  Use  Means  for  the  Con- 
version of  the  World."  It  created  a  great  stir  among 
the  churches.  The  author  was  William  Carey,  "  the 
consecrated  cobbler"  of  Northamptonshire.  He  de- 
sired to  go  as  a  commissioned  herald  of  the  gospel 
to  India,  but  so  great  was  the  opposition  that  he  was 
obliged  finally  to  sail  in  a  Danish  ship.  On  reaching 
his  destination,  he  supported  himself  by  working  in 
an  indigo  factory,  meanwhile  studying  the  Bengali 
language.  The  first  seven  years  of  his  work  were 
without  apparent  result;  then  Krishna -Pal  was 
converted.  A  single  soul  for  his  hire!  But  since 
that  day  the  enterprise  has  so  justified  itself  that 
opposition  has  practically  ceased.  The  original 
proposition  of  William  Carey  was  reproved  in  his 
Conference  by  a  venerable  minister  who  cried  out, 
"Sit  down,  young  man!"  It  would  require  great 
courage  to  repeat  that  injunction  now;  for  not  less 
than  seven  hundred  thousand  native  Christians  are  in 
evidence  in  India.  The  land  of  the  Vedas  glows 
with  the  radiance  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness. 

In  1853  the  ports  of  Japan  were  opened  by  Com- 
modore Perry  to  the  commerce  of  the  world.  The 
Church    with    some    hesitation    sailed  in    and    not 


THE    LOGIC    OF    EVENTS.  277 

without  misgiving  began  her  work  of  evangelization. 
To-day  Japan  is  the  Young  America  of  the  Orient. 
And  at  this  moment  the  enterprising  people  of  that 
country  are  discussing  the  propriety  of  substituting 
for  their  ancient  establishment  the  religion  of  Christ. 
This  is  the  Lord's  doing  and  it  is  marvelous  in  our 
eyes. 

It  was  only  twenty-six  years  ago  that  David  Living- 
stone died  on  his  knees  in  mid  Africa.  The  Dark 
Continent  is  now  cobwebbed  by  thoroughfares  of 
commercial  enterprise.  A  railway  has  been  projected 
from  the  Mediterranean  to  the  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope.  The  slave  trade  has  been  practically  extir- 
pated. And  the  gospel  is  preached  from  Tanganyika 
to  the  Congo  and  from  the  Nile  to  the  country  of  the 
Boers.  Thus  the  prophecy  is  fulfilled:  "Ethiopia 
shall  soon  stretch  out  her  hands  unto  God." 

The  Empire  of  China,  surrounded  by  its  great  wall, 
has  until  recently  resisted  all  foreign  innovations. 
No  railway  could  be  built  for  fear  of  disturbing  the 
historic  rest  of  Fung-shui,  "  the  spirit  of  the  past. " 
But  the  Great  Powers  of  Europe  have  seized  on  many 
ports  of  entry;  the  territory  of  the  Celestial  Empire 
is  being  apportioned  among  them.  "Where  the 
carcass  is  there  the  vultures  are  gathered  together." 
What  this  portends  remains  to  be  seen ;  but  one  thing 
is  clear,  an  highway  is  being  cast  up  for  the  Evangel. 
The  light  of  the  morning  is  on  the  vultures'  wings. 

Thus,  one  by  one,  the  gates  have  been  thrown 
open.  God's  providence  is  manifest.  "  Not  by 
might  nor  by  power,but  by  my  Spirit,  saith  the  Lord. " 
The  fable  of  Aladdin  before  the  cave,  crying  "  Open 
Sesame !  "  has  been  realized ;  and  by  this  circumstance 


278  THE    LOGIC    OF    EVENTS. 

a  tremendous  emphasis  is  put  upon  the  great  com- 
mission of  the  Master,  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and 
preach  the  gospel." 

Another  of  the  important  Signs  of  the  Times  is  the  Vol- 
unteering of  Men  and  Women  for  the  Propaganda.  The 
old-time  prayer  for  the  opening  of  the  gates  was  ac- 
companied by  another,  to  wit,  that  God  would  send 
laborers  into  his  harvest.  That  prayer,  also,  has 
been  answered  abundantly.  It  was  a  difficult  matter 
half  a  century  ago  to  persuade  a  theological  stu- 
dent to  enlist  for  foreign  work;  and,  with  rare  but 
notable  exceptions,  such  as  offered  themselves  were 
of  smaller  intellectual  caliber  than  those  who  re- 
mained at  home.  To-day,  however,  our  Missionary 
Boards  are  confronted  by  an  embarrassment  of 
riches.  The  choicest  men  and  women  who  are  grad- 
uated from  our  institutions  of  secular  and  theological 
learning  are  clamoring  to  enter  the  Foreign  field. 

The  preaching  of  Peter  the  Hermit  who  went  up 
and  down  portraying  the  sufferings  of  Christian  pris- 
oners in  infidel  hands  was  followed  by  the  uprising 
of  a  multitude  who,  with  the  cry,  "JDeus  vultf"  set 
forth  to  the  conquest  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher.  Won- 
derful was  the  power  of  enthusiasm  in  that  historic 
movement;  it  is  difficult  for  historians  to  account 
for  it. 

In  like  manner  at  the  beginning  of  our  Civil  War, 
when  our  national  life  and  freedom  were  jeopardized, 
the  call  of  President  Lincoln  for  troops  was  answered 
by  a  militant  host,  who  swung  into  line  with  the  song, 
"We're  coming,  Father  Abraham,  a  hundred  thou- 
sand more!  "  But  here  is  something  far  more  wonder- 
ful.    There  is  no  appeal  to  the  passions,  but  a  calm 


THE    LOGIC    OF    EVENTS.  279 

address  to  brain  and  conscience.  There  is  no  sudden 
cry,  "  To  arms!  "  nor  kindling  of  red  beacons  on  the 
hills;  only  the  calling  up  of  an  old  and  half-forgotten 
edict,  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the 
gospel!  " 

Here  is  a  most  eloquent  fact :  there  are  two  thousand 
of  the  very  best  and  brightest  of  the  educated  young 
men  and  women  of  America,  who  stand  pledged,  ready 
and  clamorous,  to  adventure  their  lives  in  the  regions 
of  darkness  and  the  habitations  of  death  for  Jesus' 
sake.  No  longer  need  we  pray,  "  O  Lord,  send  labor- 
ers into  thy  harvest."  The  laborers  are  here,  await- 
ing only  their  commissions  from  our  Missionary 
Boards.  They  jostle  one  another  in  their  eagerness 
to  reach  the  yellow  fields,  to  thrust  in  the  sickle  and 
reap. 

Still  another  of  the  significant  Signs  is  the  Success  which 
has  attended  all  Efforts  at  Foreign  Evangelization.  How- 
ever this  may  have  been  disputed  hitherto,  it  is  no 
longer  an  open  question.  None  but  the  wilfully 
blind  can  ask,  "  Do  Foreign  Missions  pay  ?  " 

The  pioneer  of  Missions  was  Christ  himself,  the 
immediate  result  of  whose  labors  was  comparatively 
insignificant;  not  more  than  five  hundred  converts 
could  be  reckoned  at  the  time  of  his  death.  His 
work  was  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  faithful  dis- 
ciples, of  whom  he  said,  "The  works  that  I  do  shall 
ye  do  also,  and  greater  works  than  these  shall  ye  do, 
because  I  go  unto  my  Father  " ;  that  is,  larger  ingather- 
ings were  to  occur  through  their  labors  after  he  had 
breathed  the  power  of  his  Spirit  upon  them. 

When  Paul  set  forth  on  his  missionary  tours,  the 
miracle  of  Pentecost  had   occurred   and  there   were 


280  THE    LOGIC    OF    EVENTS. 

thousands  of  believers.  He  traversed  the  plains  of 
Asia  Minor  and  the  mountains  of  Macedonia,  estab- 
lished churches  in  coigns  of  vantage  everywhere  and 
was  greatly  prospered  in  his  work.  Afterward  for 
more  than  three  centuries  the  church  seemed  to  fully 
realize  the  imperativeness  of  the  Great  Commission, 
aiming  at  the  conquest  of  the  world.  There  was  no 
dearth  of  revivals  then ;  souls  sprang  up  as  willows 
by  the  water  courses. 

In  the  fifth  century  a  Scotchman  named  Patricius, 
familiar  to  us  as  Saint  Patrick,  went  over  to  Ireland 
and  won  the  people  of  that  barbaric  country  to  an 
acknowledgment  of  Christ. — In  the  seventh  century 
the  monk  Augustine,  passing  through  tne  slave 
market  at  Rome,  saw  a  group  of  fair-haired  Saxons 
on  sale.  On  being  told  that  they  were  Angli,  he 
uttered  the  historic  words,  "Non  Angli  sed  Angeli,  si 
essent  C/iristiani"  j  and  forthwith  set  out  to  the  evan- 
gelization of  their  native  Britain.  But  for  that  mis- 
sionary journey  we  ourselves,  the  descendants  of 
those  Angles,  might  be  still  going  about  clothed  in 
skins  and  making  our  living  with  clubs.  What  an 
ingrate,  then,  must  the  Anglo-Saxon  be  who  says, 
"I  do  not  believe  in  Foreign  Missions" ! — In  the  eighth 
century  the  monk  Boniface  carried  the  Gospel  to 
Germany,  hewed  down  the  Thunderer  s  Oak  and 
brought  the  people  under  the  power  of  the  cross. 
Great  successes  these! 

Then  came  the  Dark  Ages.  For  a  thousand  years 
the  Church  forgot  her  commission  ;  for  many  centuries 
she  spent  her  strength  in  vain  controversies  and 
vainer  crusades.  This  culminated  in  an  overwhelm- 
ing visitation  of  darkness,  leading  on  to  that  period 


THE    LOGIC    OF   EVENTS.  28 1 

of  infidelity  when  Voltaire,  Rousseau  and  Thomas 
Paine  won  the  ear  of  Christendom ;  the  faithful 
meanwhile  lamenting,  "  Who  will  show  us  any  good?  " 

And  then  the  Church  came  to  herself.  The  mis- 
sionary epoch  began  with  the  nineteenth  century. 
There  are  now  seventy  Missionary  Societies.  The 
annual  contributions  to  Foreign  Missions  are  not  less 
than  fifteen  millions  of  dollars.  There  are  three  thou- 
sand five  hundred  missionaries  on  the  field,  aided  in 
their  work  by  seven  thousand  five  hundred  native 
assistants.  There  are  four  millions  of  communi- 
cants; and  whereas  there  were  two  hundred  millions 
of  nominal  Christians  at  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century,  there  are  not  less  than  five  hundred  millions 
to-day.  We  are  justified  in  saying,  therefore,  that 
no  earnest  effort  looking  to  the  conversion  of  the 
heathen  has  ever  been  fruitless.  God's  promises  are 
Yea  and  Amen.  "  He  that  goeth  forth  and  weepeth, 
bearing  precious  seed,  shall  doubtless  come  again 
with  rejoicing,  bringing  his  sheaves  with  him." 

And  still  another  Sign  of  the  Times  is  the  Church's 
Return  to  Reason.  This  has  been  brought  about  by 
the  inevitable  logic  of  events.  God's  people  have 
come  to  see  that  their  business  is  the  conquest  of  the 
world,  the  setting  up  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ. 

For  centuries  the  Church  was  busied  with  the  for- 
mulation of  creeds  and  symbols.  Her  energy  was 
expended  in  controversies  bearing  on  the  clear  and 
proper  expression  of  more  or  less  fundamental  doc- 
trines. No  doubt  this  was  necessary  by  way  of  prep- 
aration for  other  work  lying  further  on ;  but  the 
time  for  such  business  has  gone  by. — A  new  creed  or 
catechism  has  recently  been  put  forth  as  an  expression. 


252  THE    LOGIC    OF    EVENTS. 

of  the  faith  of  the  Nonconformist  Churches  of  Eng- 
land. However  perfect  this  may  be,  there  is  little 
likelihood  that  it  will  awaken  any  considerable  en- 
thusiasm. We  are  too  busy  in  these  times,  with  the 
larger  affairs  of  the  Kingdom,  to  consider  it  gravely. 
— The  President  of  Bowdoin  College  has  just  now 
called  for  a  "Reconstruction  of  Christianity";  but 
his  is  a  lone  voice  like  that  of  the  bittern.  "We  are 
doing  a  great  work  and  cannot  come  down."  We 
have  creeds  enough,  some  good,  some  otherwise.  He 
is  an  over-critical  thinker  who  cannot  pick  and  choose 
to  his  own  satisfaction  from  the  abundant  product  of 
the  past. 

The  Church  was  also  employed  for  centuries  in 
Polemics,  in  the  internecine  strife  of  words.  The 
great  guns  of  the  denominations  were  set  over  against 
each  other,  each  seeking  to  "  prove  its  doctrine  ortho- 
dox by  apostolic  blows  and  knocks."  That  time 
however  has  gone  by,  thank  God.  You  know  how 
Bazaine,  in  the  Franco-Prussian  War,  surrendered  his 
magnificent  army  of  a  hundred  and  eighty  thousand 
men  at  Metz.  When  brought  before  the  court- 
martial  he  sought  to  defend  himself  by  pleading, 
"  We  knew  not  what  to  do.  We  could  not  determine 
the  source  of  authority.  We  were  not  sure  as  to  the 
complexion  of  the  government  at  Paris.  We  sat  in 
council  discussing  and  debating  in  vain."  The  presi- 
dent of  the  court,  moved  by  indignation,  interrupted 
him  again  and  again  with  the  words,  "  But  France, 
sir!  What  of  France,  sir?  "  Is  there  not  a  sugges- 
tion here  for  those  of  us  who  insist  on  retraversing 
old  questions  of  creed  and  ethics?  Shall  the  conquest 
of  the  world  be  kept  waiting  on  our  deliberations? 


THE    LOGIC    OF    EVENTS.  283 

Shall  we  hold  in  abeyance  the  Master's  injunction, 
"  Seek  ye  first  of  all  the  Kingdom,"  while  we  retire 
to  discuss  the  pros  and  cons  of  "  free  will,  fixed  fate, 
foreknowledge  absolute"?  Up  with  the  red  cross 
standard!  On  to  the  front!  The  gates  of  the  world 
are  open;  the  Man  of  Macedonia  beckons  us;  the 
word  of  command  rings  loud  and  clear  through  the 
centuries,  "  Go  ye,  evangelize!  "  All  other  consider- 
ations sink  into  insignificance.  We  believe  in  Christ's 
Crown  and  Covenant.  This  is  no  time  for  parley. 
The  battle  is  on ;  the  call  of  the  Captain  of  our  salva- 
tion is,  "  Go  forward !  " 

One  other  Sign  of  the  Tunes  demands  consideration ; 
namely,  the  Spiking  of  Hostile  Guns.  The  voice  of  infi- 
delity is  suppressed.  How  marvelous  the  change 
since  a  century  ago  !  The  one  great  infidel  who 
keeps  himself  ever  before  the  public  gaze  in  America 
gets  his  only  hearing  among  the  curiosity-mongers 
and  has  no  more  influence  among  thoughtful  people 
than  if  he  were  a  swallow  in  a  chimney. — And  the 
False  Religions  are  moribund.  It  was  said  by  Max 
Miiller  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago  that,  aside  from 
Christianity,  there  were  but  two  living  religions  on 
earth,  Mohammedanism  and  Buddhism.  The  former 
— representing  the  three  great  horrors,  war,  slavery 
and  polygamy  —  is  fighting  for  life  in  its  ancient 
strongholds,  making  no  conquests  except  among  the 
hordes  of  darkest  Africa:  The  latter,  whose  adher- 
ents have  been  variously  estimated  at  from  one  to 
four  hundred  millions,  is  yielding  everywhere  to  the 
advancing  light  of  civilization  and  Christian  thought. 

The  only  obstacle  to  the  progress  of  Christianity 
worth  considering  to-day  is  within  the  Church.      It 


284  THE    LOGIC    OF    EVENTS. 

lies  partly  in  the  ignorance  of  Christian  people. 
There  are  some  who  profess  to  be  followers  of  Jesus, 
yet  refuse  to  lend  themselves  to  missionary  enterprise 
because  they  are  blind  to  current  events.  They  would 
do  well  to  give  heed  to  John  Wesley,  who  said,  "I 
read  the  newspapers  to  see  how  God  is  governing  the 
world. " — Other  Christians  seem  to  be  indifferent ;  and 
their  indifference  rests  in  unbelief.  They  are  like  the 
spies  who  came  back  from  Canaan,  saying,  "The 
inhabitants  thereof  are  Anakim  and  we  were  as  grass- 
hoppers in  their  sight. "  O  that  they  might  be  per- 
suaded to  believe  in  God's  leadership;  for  courage 
ever  rests  in  faith.  "Let  us  go  up  at  once,"  said 
Caleb,  "and  possess  the  land,  for  we  be  well  able  to 
overcome  them!"  The  word  for  the  hour  is  the 
watchword  of  the  Covenanters,  ' '  God  with  us !  "  The 
world  is  at  our  feet  if  we  believe.  All  things  are  pos- 
sible to  the  man  or  the  church  that  believeth.  "I  can 
do  all  things  through  Christ  which  strengtheneth  me." 
And  now  as  to  the  personal  application.  First: 
It  devolves  on  every  Christian  to  heed  the  injunction 
of  the  Master,  "Go  ye."  It  was  addressed  to  every 
one.  No  Christian  is  excused.  Go,  my  friend,  in 
person  or  by  proxy.  Go  or  send  your  substitute. 
"I  will  descend  into  the  mine,"  said  Carey,  "if  you 
will  hold  the  rope."  Have  you  sent  your  substitute 
down  into  the  mine,  my  friend  ?  Then  stand  by  the 
rope!  Let  the  man  who  has  jeopardized  his  life  as 
your  substitute,  toiling  amid  privation  and  danger, 
with  fire-damp  all  about  him,  know  that  you  are 
loyally  and  vigilantly  standing  by.  This  is  an  indi- 
vidual matter.  "What  did  you  see?"  asked  Dr. 
Cook  of  a  Waterloo  gunner.      "I  saw  nothing,"  he 


THE    LOGIC    OF    EVENTS.  285 

replied,  "but  dust  and  smoke. " — "And  what  did  you 
do  ?  " — "  I  stood  by  my  gun !  " 

Second:  It  behooves  every  follower  of  Christ  to 
give,  up  to  the  full  measure  of  his  ability,  for  the 
carrying  on  of  this  work.  The  nations  will  never 
be  evangelized  until  God's  people  realize  that  they 
are  not  their  own  but  are  bought  with  a  price,  even 
the  precious  blood  of  Jesus.  It  is  estimated  that  the 
annual  contribution  of  Christian  people  throughout 
the  world  for  foreign  Missions  is  about  ten  cents  per 
capita.  Is  it  not  wonderful  that  with  such  a  meager 
showing  of  consecration,  the  Church  should  have 
achieved  any  results  at  all  ?  We  sometimes  wonder 
why  Christ  does  not  come  to  establish  his  throne. 
"Why  tarry  the  wheels  of  his  chariot?"  cried  the 
mother  of  Sisera,  looking  out  at  the  window.  It  is 
plain  to  see  why  the  wheels  of  the  Lord's  chariot 
tarry ;  they  are  fast  in  the  mire  of  avarice  and  parsi- 
mony. Ten  cents  per  annum,  for  each  Christian, 
for  the  conversion  of  the  world !  Is  there  not  truth 
in  what  Dr.  Duff  said,  "We  are  playing  at  mis- 
sions" ?  O  for  a  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  open 
the  hearts  of  God's  people!  The  old  historian  Dio- 
dorus  tells  of  a  fire  in  the  Pyrenees  which  burned  off 
the  forests  and  penetrated  the  soil  until  a  stream  of 
pure  silver  gushed  forth  and  ran  down  the  mountain 
sides.  This  is  a  manifest  fable.  But  there  will  be 
a  more  marvelous  story  to  tell  when  the  fire  of  God's 
Spirit  shall  touch  the  hearts  of  his  people.  What  a 
burning  there  will  be,  and  how  the  silver  and  the 
gold  will  flow  together  at  the  feet  of  God ! 

Finally,  let  us  pray  without  ceasing  for  the  coming 
of  the  kingdom  of  Christ.     To  your  knees,  O  Israel! 


286  THE   LOGIC    OF    EVENTS. 

"  For  him  shall  endless  prayer  be  made."  We  pray 
for  ourselves,  we  pray  for  our  friends,  we  pray  for 
our  enemies ;  now  let  us  pray  for  Christ,  that  his 
kingdom  may  stretch  from  the  river  unto  the  ends  of 
the  earth.  "  Help  me  to  my  knees!  "  said  one  of  the 
fathers  when  informed  that  he  had  but  an  hour  to 
live;  "  help  me  to  my  knees  that  I  may  pray  for  the 
conversion  of  the  world."  And  there  he  knelt,  his 
pulse  growing  feeble,  his  eyes  growing  dim;  until 
his  last  word  was  spoken,  "Thy  Kingdom  come!" 
Let  us  offer  that  prayer  once,  with  all  our  hearts,  in  a 
spirit  of  absolute  abandon  of  surrender, — "Thy  King- 
dom come!" — and  we  shall  never  be  again  the  same 
men.  The  world  will  grow  little;  the  things  of  the 
Kingdom  will  fill  the  horizons  of  life;  nothing  will 
seem  important  but  the  salvation  of  souls.  Use  us, 
O  Lord,  for  thy  great  purposes!  Stimulate  us  to 
holy  endeavor,  kindle  our  zeal,  enlarge  our  faith, 
baptize  us  with  thy  Spirit !  Use  us  to  thy  glory !  Thy 
Kingdom  come  in  our  hearts!  Thy  Kingdom  come 
among  all  the  children  of  men!     Amen. 


PETER'S  SALUTATORY 

"  Peter,  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  the  strangers  scattered  throughout 
Pontus,  Galatia,  Cappadocia,  Asia,  and  Bithynia,  elect  according  to  the 
foreknowledge  of  God  the  Father,  through  sanctification  of  the  Spirit,  unto 
obedience  and  sprinkling  of  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ:  Grace  unto  you,  and 
peace,  be  multiplied.  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
which  according  to  his  abundant  mercy  hath  begotten  us  again  unto  a  lively 
hope  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead,  to  an  inheritance  incor- 
ruptible, and  undefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not  away,  reserved  in  heaven  for  you, 
who  are  kept  by  the  power  of  God  through  faith  unto  salvation  ready  to  be 
revealed  in  the  last  time."— I.  Peter  i,  1-5. 

The  world  loves  Peter.  His  faults,  his  virtues  and 
his  blunders  were  those  of  a  large-hearted,  open- 
handed  man.  We  love  him  for  his  frankness;  he 
"  wore  his  heart  upon  his  sleeve  for  daws  to  peck  at." 
We  love  him  for  his  enthusiasm ;  when  his  blood  was 
up  let  the  servant  of  Malchus  take  heed!  We  love 
him  for  his  courage;  once  indeed  he  played  the  cow- 
ard before  the  pointed  finger  of  a  maid ;  but  once  was 
enough;  he  shook  and  trembled  no  more  until  the 
day  when  he  entered  into  full  fellowship  with  his 
Master  in  glorious  martyrdom. 

It  was  a  great  day  for  Peter  when  the  Lord  found 
him  mending  his  nets  by  the  lakeside,  and  said, 
"Arise,  and  follow  me. "  He  left  all — boats,  com- 
rades, the  bickering  in  the  fish-markets,  the  fierce 
joy  of  the  bracing  winds  of  Gennesaret — and 
thenceforth  devoted  himself  to  the  service  of  Christ. 

287 


288  PETERS    SALUTATORY. 

This  meant  much  for  a  sunburned  fisherman,  who 
had  little  acquaintance  with  schools  and  less  taste 
for  the  forum.  He  set  out,  like  our  bold  Genoese, 
blindly  feeling  his  way,  but  sure  of  something  be- 
yond, an  Eldorado  of  duty  and  usefulness  with  gold 
at  its  heart  and  harvests  on  its  bosom.  As  he  passed 
on  the  heavens  lifted  and  the  horizons  receded  before 
him.  There  came  dreams  and  visions;  graces  and 
manifold  graces.  His  mind  was  broadened,  his 
heart  enlarged,  and  Simon  the  son  of  Jonas  became 
"Peter,  the  Rock." 

For  thirty  years  after  his  conversion  he  did  not  ven- 
ture to  exercise  the  functions  of  a  teacher.  In  the  words 
before  us  we  have  his  Salutatory,  in  which  he  shows 
himself  an  expert  in  clear  and  succinct  statement  of 
truth.  He  goes  straight  at  the  heart  of  the  matter,  as 
we  should  expect  from  one  whose  upbringing  has  been 
in  the  school  of  experience.  This  was  better  than  to 
be  a  university-bred  man.  He  had  walked  with 
Jesus,  had  seen  him  in  the  Mount  of  Transfigu- 
ration, had  witnessed  his  crucifixion,  had  looked 
into  the  rifled  grave  in  Joseph's  garden.  He  had 
heard  the  mighty  rushing  wind  at  Pentecost,  was 
familiar  with  persecution,  had  traversed  many  lands 
to  preach  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ.  This 
was  great  training,  the  best  indeed  for  a  teach- 
able man.  An  alchemist  may  theorize  about  gold, 
but  he  is  a  better  financier  who  digs  gold  out  of  the 
bowels  of  the  earth.  Sir  Isaac  Newton  said  to  Dr. 
Halley,  "  I  am  always  glad  to  hear  you  speak  of 
astronomy  or  mathematics;  for  those  are  subjects 
which  you  have  studied  and  understand.  But  you 
should   not  talk  of  Christianity;  for  you  have  never 


peter's  salutatory.  289 

tasted  of  it.  I  have,  and  I  am  certain  you  know- 
nothing  about  it." 

In  these  words,  with  which  the  apostle  prefaces  his 
General  Epistles,  we  shall  find  that  he  practically 
sweeps  the  horizon  of  truth.  He  gives  us,  indeed,  a 
System  of  Theology;  none  the  less  complete  because 
so  brief  and  simple.      Let  us  see: 

I.  Here  is  the  Doctrine  of  Election.  The  words  are, 
"Peter,  to  the  elect."  He  knew  that  he  was  ap- 
proaching a  great  mystery,  but  that  did  not  appal 
him.  Observe,  he  does  not  undertake  to  explain  it; 
he  simply  receives  and  commends  it  to  believers  as 
an  indubitable  and  most  comfortable  fact.  And 
incidentally  he  has  several  things  to  say  about  it. 

First:  It  is  "according  to  the  foreknowledge  of 
God."  So  far  he  is  on  secure  ground.  Yet  just 
here  the  Calvinists  and  the  Arminians  part  company. 
All  parties  agree  as  to  the  premises;  but  the  question 
is,  Was  God's  foreknowledge  antecedent  to  his  decree 
or  vice  versa  ?  Peter  is  neither  a  Calvinist  nor  an  Ar- 
menian. Probably  he  would  have  said  that  the  ques- 
tion of  priority  had  no  relevancy  here.  There  can  be 
no  chronological  sequence,  no  "before"  or  "after" 
with  God.  He  is  not  subject  to  the  limitations  of  time. 
Yesterday,  to-day  and  to-morrow  are  alike  with  him. 
He  whose  goings  forth  are  from  eternity  cannot  be 
supposed  to  adjust  his  movements  to  the  vibrations 
of  a  pendulum  or  to  keep  step  with  our  procession  of 
days. 

Second:  Election  is  "through  sanctification  of  the 
Spirit";  rather  "in  sanctification  of  the  Spirit" 
(R.  V.).  This  indicates  the  method  by  which  the 
decree  is  carried  to  its  conclusion.     The  function  of 


290  PETER  S   SALUTATORY. 

the  Holy  Ghost  is  to  produce  holiness:  the  process 
is  sanctification;  the  result  is  Character  or  Godlike- 
ness.  This  operation  of  the  Spirit  is  not  momentary, 
as  in  the  new  birth,  but  progressive.  There  are  per- 
sons who  speak  of  themselves  as  though  they  "  were 
already  perfect";  but  their  lives  are  always  in  evi- 
dence against  them.  We  grow  "from  grace  to 
grace  "  under  the  influence  of  the  Spirit,  coming 
nearer  and  nearer  continually  to  the  likeness  of 
Christ.  Thus  Peter  says  in  another  place:  "Add 
to  your  faith  virtue;  and  to  virtue,  knowledge;  and 
to  knowledge,  temperance;  and  to  temperance, 
patience;  and  to  patience,  godliness;  and  to  godli- 
ness, brotherly  kindness;  and  to  brotherly  kindness, 
charity,"  (2  Pet.  1:5-7).  In  which  manner,  as  Paul 
says,  "we  all  with  open  face  beholding  as  in  a 
mirror  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  are  changed  into  the 
same  image,  from  glory  to  glory,  even  as  by  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  " :  (2  Cor.  3 :  18). 

Third:  Election  is  "unto  obedience  and  sprink- 
ling of  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ."  The  prevailing 
aversion  to  the  Doctrine  of  Election  is  largely  due 
to  a  misapprehension,  to  wit,  that  God  by  his  decree 
set  apart  certain  ones  to  the  mere  enjoyment  of  spe- 
cial honors  and  privileges.  In  fact  the  objective 
point  of  election  is  not  privilege  so  much  as  duty  and 
responsibility.  We  are  not  to  imagine  that  God  sur- 
veyed the  coming  race,  as  if  passing  them  in  solemn 
review,  saying,  "Thou  to  heaven"  and,  "Thou  to 
hell."  The  call  is  to  obedience  and  sprinkling  of  the 
blood;  that  is,  to  a  life  of  purity  and  usefulness. 
James  defines  religion  thus,  "  to  visit  the  fatherless 
and  widows  in  their  affliction  and    to  keep    oneself 


PETERS   SALUTATORY.  291 

unspotted  from  the  world."  And  Peter  follows  a  de- 
scription of  Christian  living  with  an  exhortation, — 
"Give  the  more  diligence  to  make  your  calling  and 
election  sure. " 

II.  Here,  also,  is  the  Doctrine  of  Regeneration. 
"Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  which  according  to  his  abundant  mercy  hath 
begotten  us  again";  that  is,  regenerated  us.  This 
also  is  a  mystery,  but  not  to  be  rejected  on  that 
account.  Jesus  said,  "The  wind  bloweth  where  it 
listeth  and  thou  hearest  the  sound  thereof,  but  canst 
not  tell  whence  it  cometh,  and  whither  it  goeth;  so 
is  every  one  that  is  born  of  the  Spirit."  Regeneration 
is  a  mysterious  but  visible  and  tangible  fact.  It  is 
to  be  seen  every  day  in  the  walk  and  conversation  of 
those  who  have  been  delivered  from  the  bonds  of 
iniquity  into  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of 
God.  It  is  vitally  important  that  we  should  appre- 
hend this  fact,  since  regeneration  is  prerequisite  to 
the  eternal  life;  as  Jesus  said,  "Verily,  verily,  I  say 
unto  you,  Except  a  man  be  born  again  he  cannot  see 
the  Kingdom  of  God." 

Peter  goes  on  to  say  of  this  doctrine,  First,  that 
we  are  regenerated  "unto  a  lively  hope";  better,  a 
living  hope.  The  hope  referred  to  is  not  to  be 
thought  of  as  something  which  can  be  put  away  and 
produced  on  occasion,  as  a  man  shows  his  railway 
ticket  when  the  conductor  calls  for  it.  The  only 
hope  that  is  worth  having  is  like  the  angel  that  awoke 
Peter  in  the  prison  at  Philippi,  loosed  his  chains  with 
a  touch,  bade  him  arise  and  gird  himself,  went  before 
him  through  doors  that  opened  successively  at  their 
approach  as  if  the  bolts  were  drawn  by  unseen  hands, 


292  PETER  S    SALUTATORY. 

led  him  from  ward  to  ward  and  did  not  leave  him 
until  he  stood  under  the  starry  canopy  of  heaven. 

Second:  Our  regeneration  is  "by  the  resurrection 
of  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead."  Is  it  not  then  by 
the  power  of  the  cross  ?  The  death  of  Jesus  is,  in- 
deed, the  ground  of  our  pardon,  but  the  new  birth 
is  by  the  influence  of  that  Spirit  which  the  risen 
Christ  breathes  upon  us.  Thus  it  is  written,  "He 
was  delivered  for  our  offenses  and  raised  again  for 
our  j ustification. "  A  deed  of  conveyance  is  ineffective 
without  the  seller's  signature.  So  if  Christ  had  not 
risen  our  faith  would  be  vain,  we  would  be  still  in 
our  sins  (1  Cor.  xv.  17).  But  because  he  liveth,  we 
live  also.  In  the  sprouting  grain  the  farmer  sees 
visions  of  yellow  harvests  and  loaded  wains  and  full 
granaries:  so  is  the  resurrection  of  Christ  the  proph- 
ecy and  assurance  of  our  newness  of  life.  Regen- 
eration is  wrought  by  the  Breath  of  him  who,  in  his 
triumph  over  death,  brought  life  and  immortality  to 
light. 

Third:  We  are  begotten  again  "to  an  inheritance 
incorruptible  and  undefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not 
away."  In  regeneration  we  are  received,  by  the 
Spirit  of  Adoption,  into  the  rights  and  privileges  of 
sonship  :  "If  sons,  then  heirs,  heirs  of  God  and 
joint  heirs  with  Jesus  Christ."  We  partly  enter  upon 
our  inheritance  here  and  now.  In  some  portions  of 
Scotland  it  is  the  custom  for  the  seller  of  a  field  to 
give  to  the  purchaser  a  bit  of  turf  which  is  "  the 
earnest  of  the  purchased  possession."  In  like  manner 
we  have  foretastes  of  heaven  as  we  journey  on  through 
this  present  life.  But,  O!  who  shall  describe  what 
lies  beyond  ?     Who  shall   say  what  surprises  await 


PETER  S    SALUTATORY.  293 

those  who  are  "made  meet  for  the  inheritance  of  the 
saints  in  light  ?"  In  moments  of  spiritual  exaltation 
we  climb  the  slopes  of  Nebo  and  catch  glimpses  of 
the  country  that  is  afar  off.  In  our  Father's  Will  and 
Testament  we  read  of  "joy  unspeakable  and  full  of 
glory."  Our  hopes  are  thus  quickened:  as  when  Chris- 
tian, in  The  Pilgrim's  Progress,  standing  at  the  gate- 
way of  the  Celestial  City,  was  dazzled  and  bewildered 
by  a  momentary  vision  of  angels,  of  which  he  said, 
"which  when  I  saw,  I  wished  myself  among  them." 

III.  And  here  is  also  the  Doctrine  of  Perseverance. 
Peter  speaks  of  this  inheritance  as  "  reserved  in 
heaven  for  you  who  are  kept."  A  great  word  that, 
"kept!"  It  means,  once  a  Christian,  always  a 
Christian.  There  is  no  "falling  from  grace."  A 
man  may  fall  from  self-confidence,  from  fallacious 
hopes,  from  ill-grounded  opinions;  but  from  God's 
grace,  never. 

This  is  evident  from  the  first  observation  which 
Peter  makes  concerning  this  Doctrine;  he  says,  we 
are  "  kept  by  the  power  of  God."  To  expect  to  per- 
severe in  right  living  by  our  own  unaided  efforts  is 
as  vain  as  it  would  be  to  seek  shelter  in  one's  shadow. 
The  secret  of  continuance  is  in  the  motto  of  a  famous 
Crusader;  a  wine  glass,  with  a  broken  foot,  bearing 
this  inscription,  "Hold  thou  me  up!"  If  God  lays 
hold  of  a  man,  who  shall  pluck  him  out  of  the 
almighty  hand  ?  One  reason  why  the  Te  Deum  has 
been  kept  so  long  in  the  hymnology  of  the  Church  is 
because  it  advances  to  this  climacteric  statement  and 
petition:  "In  thee,  O  Lord,  do  I  put  my  trust;  let 
me  never  be  confounded !  " 

But  second;  we  are  "  kept  through  faith."   By  faith 


294  PETER  S    SALUTATORY. 

we  co-operate  with  the  power  of  God.  Faith  is  the 
reaching  up  of  my  hand  to  clasp  God's  hand.  This  is 
the  grip  that  makes  our  perseverance  sure.  A  woman 
stood  at  the  window  of  a  burning  house,  stretching 
out  her  hands  and  calling  piteously  for  help.  A  lad- 
der was  raised  from  the  street  but  did  not  reach.  A 
fireman  pushed  his  way  up  the  stairways  and  into  the 
room,  fastened  a  rope  to  the  lintel,  and  grasped  the 
trembling  woman  saying,  "  Hold  fast!  "  As  they 
were  thus  descending  he  felt  a  sudden  relaxing  of 
her  grip  and  knew  she  had  swooned;  whereupon 
he  tightened  his  hold  and  at  length  brought  her  to 
safety.  It  often  happens  thus  in  our  relations  with 
God.  Our  faith  wavers,  our  strength  fails;  he 
merely  holds  us  closer.  Thus  we  are  "  kept, "  kept 
in  our  weakness,  kept  amid  all  the  vicissitudes  of  our 
wayward  life,  kept  by  his  great  power;  and  "  no 
man  shall  pluck  us  out  of  his  hand."  The  gates  of 
hell  shall  not  prevail  against  us. 

One  thing  more :  we  are  "kept  unto  salvation  ready 
to  be  revealed  in  the  last  time."  This  salvation  be- 
gins here  and  now.  For  "there  is  no  condemnation 
to  them  that  are  in  Christ  Jesus."  And  "he  that 
believeth  hath  entered  into  life."  But  salvation  is  a 
cumulative  fact;  it  increases  more  and  more  as  life 
passes  on.  We  are  constantly  entering  on  larger 
measures  of  hope  and  character,  of  usefulness  and 
assurance.  We  know  more  of  Christ :  we  drink  deeper 
of  spiritual  peace.  This  is  what  Paul  means  when  he 
says:  "Work  out  your  own  salvation  with  fear  and 
trembling,  for  it  is  God  that  worketh  in  you."  Work 
it  out,  to  its  logical  results,  day  by  day,  until  the  fruits 
of  the  Spirit  shall  be  realized  in  you. 


PETER  S    SALUTATORY.  295 

But  this  salvation  can  only  be  fully  revealed  "in 
the  last  time."  The  end  is  glory.  "Now  are  we 
sons  of  God,  and  it  hath  not  yet  been  manifested 
what  we  shall  be."  God's  purposes  do  not  stop 
short  of  the  full,  final,  perfect  consummation.  As 
it  is  written:  "Whom  he  foreknew,  them  he  did 
predestinate  to  be  conformed  to  the  image  of  his 
Son,  and  whom  he  did  predestinate,  them  he  also 
called;  and  whom  he  called,  them  he  also  justi- 
fied; and  whom  he  justified,  them  he  also  glorified" 
(Rom.  8, 29). 

Thus  Peter  in  his  Salutatory  gives  us  a  System  of 
Theology  in  brief.  It  covers  the  whole  ground : 
Election  goes  back  into  eternity;  Regeneration  marks 
the  beginning  of  the  Christian  life;  and  Perseverance 
brings  us  to  heaven's  gate. 

The  words  of  Peter  were  immediately  addressed 
to  saints  under  persecution.  He  speaks  of  them  as 
being  "in  heaviness  through  manifold  trials."  The 
doctrines  which  he  so  simply  enunciates  were  in- 
tended to  alleviate  their  sufferings  by  the  strength- 
ening of  their  faith.  We,  also,  are  oftentimes  in 
heaviness;  and  our  deepest  comfort  lies  in  the  con- 
templation of  the  same  mighty  truths.  "  If  God  be 
for  us,  who  can  be  against  us  ?  " 

A  martyr  in  Queen  Mary's  time,  while  on  the  way 
to  execution,  said,  "One  more  stile  and  I  shall  be  at 
heaven's  gate."  The  pains  and  trials  of  the  pilgrim- 
age are  made  lighter  by  the  thought  that  we  are 
drawing  nearer  "  the  end  of  our  faith,  even  the  sal- 
vation of  our  souls."  Meanwhile,  not  life  nor  death 
can  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God.  We  know 
whom  we  have  believed  and  are  persuaded  that  he  is 


296  peter's  salutatory. 

able  to  keep    that   which    we  have  committed  unto 
him  against  that  day. 

Do  our  souls  respond  to  these  truths  of  the  King- 
dom ?  Or  are  they  mere  dreams  and  visions  ?  Are 
they  no  more  than  problems  worthy  of  serious 
thought;  or  have  they  so  entered  into  our  personal 
experience  as  to  be  interwoven  with  the  tissues  of 
life  ?  Objective  truth  is  of  little  moment.  The  im- 
portant matter  is  that  we  should  see  truth  with  our 
eyes  and  handle  it  with  our  hands  and  give  expres- 
sion to  it  in  walk  and  conversation.  When  Merle 
d'Aubigne  was  a  theological  student  at  Geneva,  his 
teacher  Robert  Haldane  said  to  him,  "You  tell  me 
you  accept  this  doctrine:  There  it  is  in  the  Scrip- 
tures; but  have  you  received  it  into  your  inmost 
heart  ?  "  He  was  moved  by  that  inquiry  to  self- 
examination.  The  iron  entered  into  his  soul,  and, 
whereas  he  had  previously  been  an  enthusiastic 
student  of  theology,  he  became  a  living  Epistle  of 
Christ.  We  have  contemplated  the  three  great  doc- 
trines which  cover  the  Christian  life:  Election, 
Regeneration  and  Perseverance,  ending  in  "salva- 
tion ready  to  be  revealed  in  the  last  time."  Would 
that  these  truths  might  press  themselves  in  upon 
mind,  conscience  and  heart,  so  that  we  might  be 
able  to  say,  "I  believe!"  and  thenceforth  to  hope 
unto  the  end  for  the  grace  that  is  to  be  brought  unto 
us  at  the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ! 


THREE  HUNDRED  YEARS* 

"And  I  said,  This  is  my  infirmity ;  but  I  will  remember  the  years  of  the 
right  hand  of  the  Most  High."— Psalm  77,  10. 

"The  hound  when  he  hath  lost  his  scent,"  says 
Dr.  Gurnall,  quaintly,  "hunts  backward  and  so  re- 
covers it,  and  pursues  his  game  with  louder  cry  than 
ever."  David  was  in  low  spirits:  he  had  been  com- 
plaining of  a  "  sore  which  ran  in  the  night  and  ceased 
not;"  he  had  been  asking,  "Will  the  Lord  be  favor- 
able no  more  ? "  He  perceives  however  that  this  is 
an  unworthy  view  of  divine  providence,  and  plucks 
up  courage  by  a  review  of  past  mercies,  saying, 
"  This  is  my  infirmity;  but  I  will  remember  the  years 
of  the  right  hand  of  the  Most  High." 

The  three  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  birth  of 
Oliver  Cromwell  is  an  occasion  for  serious  thought 
and  grateful  remembrance.  A  cursory  view  of  the 
intervening  period  will  serve  to  show  that  God  has 
been  constantly  in  the  world  and  that  everything  is 
going  right.  We  shall  dwell  on  the  personal  factor 
only  so  far  as  may  be  needful  to  emphasize  the  con- 
trast between  our  present  civilization  and  that  of 
three  centuries  ago. 

The  birth  of  Cromwell  was  on  April  25th,  1599,  at 
Huntingdon,   in   the   Fen   Country.      Those  were  de- 

*A  sermon  preached  on  the  three  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  birth  0/ 
Oliver  Cromwell. 

297 


298  THREE    HUNDRED    YEARS. 

generate  times.  In  England  the  people  were  over- 
burdened with  taxes,  likened  to  the  frogs  of  Egypt 
that  came  up  into  the  bedchambers  and  the  knead- 
ing-troughs.  In  Ireland  the  Romanists  were  carry- 
ing matters  with  a  high  and  bloody  hand.  In  Scot- 
land the  faithful  were  upholding  "  Christ's  Crown  and 
Covenant  "  and  sealing  their  devotion  with  their  lives. 

The  Tudors  were  making  way  for  the  Stuarts,  the 
meanest  family  that  ever  wielded  a  scepter.  Down 
from  the  North  Country  came  James  I,  on  his  way  to 
Westminster.  The  royal  cortege  paused  at  Hunting- 
don :  where,  among  the  entertainments,  was  a  wres- 
tling match  on  the  green.  Oliver,  a  promising  lad  of 
four  years,  was  pitted  against  Prince  Charles  of  cor- 
responding age,  and  threw  him.  It  was  ominous 
sport;  for  in  coming  time  there  would  be  many  a 
bitter  contest  betwixt  these  two,  ere  the  one  would 
throw  the  other — on  the  headsman's  block. 

The  star  of  Popery  was  in  the  ascendant.  The  air 
was  vibrant  with  the  recent  clangor  of  the  bells  of  St. 
Bartholomew's.  Only  eleven  years  had  elapsed  since 
the  Great  Armada,  sailing  forth  to  the  suppression  of 
Protestantism,  had  been  scattered  by  God's  breath  in 
lamentable  wreck.  In  Oliver's  sixth  year  he  must 
have  heard  of  certain  kegs  of  powder  discovered 
under  Westminster  Hall,  placed  there  with  the  pur- 
pose of  blowing  Parliament  into  the  air.  In  his 
twelfth  year  the  King  James  Version  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures  was  given  to  the  world.  Up  to  that  time 
the  Bible  was  practically  unknown  to  the  common 
people,  but  thenceforth,  as  Wickliffe  had  prophesied, 
"  a  mere  ploughman  might  know  the  whole  counsel 
of  God." 


THREE    HUNDRED    YEARS.  299 

In  1616  Cromwell  was  matriculated  at  Cambridge. 
Here  we  note  a  strange  coincidence:  at  the  very  time 
when  his  name  was  entered  on  the  roster  of  the  Uni- 
versity, thus, — "  Oliverius  Cromwell,  admissus  in  com- 
meatum  sociorium" — another  inscription  was  being 
made  on  the  stone  floor  of  Stratford  Church  not 
far  away,  "  Here  lies  William  Shakespeare.  Good 
friend,  for  Jesus'  sake,  forbear  to  move  these  bones." 
This  marked  the  passing  of  the  Golden  Age  of  Eng- 
lish Literature  to  make  way  for  the  Great  Contro- 
versy of  civil  and  ecclesiastical  freedom. 

On  leaving  Cambridge  the  youth  went  up  to  Lon- 
don to  the  Inns  of  Court.  While  there,  bending  over 
his  law  books,  he  could  not  have  been  unmindful  of 
events  occurring  about  him.  No  doubt  he  followed 
the  crowd  to  Tower  Hill  to  witness  the  execution  of 
Sir  Walter  Raleigh;  he  may  have  seen  him  on  the 
scaffold,  drawing  his  finger  along  the  edge  of  the 
headsman's  ax  with  the  remark,  "This  is  a  sharp 
medicine,  but  it  cures  all  ills. "  He  must  have  learned, 
also,  at  about  the  same  time,  of  the  sailing  of  a  ship 
called  the  Mayflower  from  Delft  Haven,  in  which  an 
historic  company  of  adventurous  souls  set  forth  in 
earnest  quest  of  freedom  to  worship  God. 

The  times  were  out  of  joint,  indeed.  And  what 
room  was  there  in  the  cloisters  for  a  youth  whose 
soul  was  vexed  with  the  great  problem  of  human 
rights  ?  In  sore  trouble  and  bewilderment  he  re- 
turned to  Huntingdon,  to  busy  himself  in  "mowing, 
milking  and  marketing,"  meanwhile,  as  Milton  says, 
"enlarging  his  soul  in  a  quiet  bosom  for  more  ex- 
alted times." 

His  call  to  public  service  came  in  1628,  when  the 


300  THREE   HUNDRED   YEARS. 

people  of  the  Fen  Country  sent  him  to  Parliament  to 
defend  their  rights.  They  had  by  persistent  toil 
recovered  four  thousand  acres  of  swamp  land,  of 
which  the  King  now  claimed  a  moiety.  It  fell  upon 
Cromwell  to  resist  this  claim.  In  Parliament,  where 
he  was  known  as  the  "Lord  of  the  Fens,"  he  attended 
strictly  to  the  business  in  hand.  His  only  speech  on 
any  question  of  general  importance  was  brief  and  to 
the  point,  as  follows:  "Mr.  Speaker:  I  have  heard 
that  Doctor  Alabaster  hath  preached  flat  Popery  at 
Paul's  Cross;  and  that  the  Bishop  of  Winchester  hath 
promised  him  promotion.  Is  this  the  path  of  eccle- 
siastical preferment  ?  If  this  be  done  in  the  green 
tree,  what  shall  be  expected  in  the  dry  ?" 

So  little  stir  did  he  make  in  Parliament  that  he 
almost  failed  of  re-election.  One  vote  determined  it 
— a  slight  margin  when  we  consider  that  the  body 
now  to  assemble  was  the  Long  Parliament,  in  which 
must  be  discussed  with  white-hot  earnestness  the 
question,  Jus  divinum  versus  Popular  Rights.  The 
climax  of  that  controversy  was  reached  when  Crom- 
well moved  that  the  power  of  the  militia  should  rest 
no  longer  in  the  Crown  but  in  the  Parliament.  Then 
came  the  tug  of  war.  The  King  entered  Westminster 
Hall  with  a  band  of  soldiery  and  sought  to  arrest  the 
prime  movers.  Never  had  the  privileges  of  the  place 
been  so  violated.  As  the  King  passed  out  into 
the  street  his  chariot  was  followed  by  a  multitude. 
Ominous  voices  were  heard:  "To  your  tents,  O 
Israel !  "  His  majesty,  fearing  the  rising  storm,  betook 
himself  to  flight,  to  be  seen  no  more  in  London  until 
he  stepped  upon  the  scaffold  whereon  he  was  to  die. 

It  is  now  1642.     We  salute  Captain   Cromwell  of 


THREE   HUNDRED    YEARS.  301 

the  7th  Troop.  His  followers,  recruited  from  among 
the  short-haired  yeomen,  are  called  "Roundheads." 
He  is  to  share  with  Prince  Rupert  of  the  Cavaliers 
the  honors  of  military  leadership  in  the  approaching 
conflict.  You  may  see  the  portraits  of  these  men  in 
Warwick  Castle.  The  death-mask  of  Cromwell 
represents  a  face  strong  and  rugged,  as  if  carved  out 
of  gnarled  oak.  The  other  portrait  is  of  a  smiling 
cavalier,  with  light  hair  falling  over  a  velvet  doublet. 
The  cry  of  the  Roundheads  was,  "God  with  us!" 
that  of  Prince  Rupert's  men,  "  Hey  for  cavaliers!  " 

Their  first  meeting  was  at  Marston  Moor,  where 
five  thousand  of  the  royalists  were  slain ;  their  last 
was  at  Naseby,  where  the  royal  hosts  were  scattered 
like  chaff  from  the  threshing-floor.  In  the  royal 
carriage,  which  was  captured  that  day,  were  found 
such  proofs  of  the  King's  perfidy,  that  the  Scotch, 
among  whom  he  had  taken  refuge,  were  constrained 
to  surrender  him.  He  was  condemned  by  due  proc- 
ess and  died  on  Tower  Hill. 

It  could  be  wished  that  the  story  of  Cromwell 
ended  here  ;  but  justice  requires  some  reference  to 
the  darker  side  of  his  life  and  character.  One  of  the 
blots  upon  his  memory  is  the  record  of  his  campaign  in 
Ireland,  where  he  swept  the  country  as  with  a  besom 
from  Glengariffe  to  the  Lakes  of  Killarney.  The 
little  children  in  that  "  Land  of  Sorrows  "  are  fright- 
ened by  "the  curse  of  Cromwell"  to  this  day. — An- 
other was  his  campaign  in  Scotland,  where  he  led 
his  Roundheads  in  a  fierce  campaign  against  the 
Covenanters,  his  former  comrades-in-arms.  It  was  a 
black  night  when  he  fought  old  David  Lesley  and 
his  ill-armed  men  at  Dunbar,  scattering  them  amid 


302  THREE    HUNDRED    YEARS. 

the  growing  corn  and  gorse.  It  was  a  darker  day 
when  he  swept  them  through  the  streets  of  Worces- 
ter, to  the  fierce  music  of  the  Imprecatory  Psalms. 
Prince  Charles  looked  on  from  the  cathedral  spire 
and,  seeing  the  rout  of  his  partisans,  betook  himself 
in  a  boat  to  the  shores  of  Normandy,  from  whence 
he  was  destined  to  come  again  in  fulness  of  time 
with  waving  banners. 

My  Lord  General,  returning  from  these  campaigns 
to  London,  was  received  with  acclamations  of  wel- 
come. "Praise  me  not, "he  said;  "but  give  all  glory 
to  God!  " 

The  Rump  Parliament  was  then  in  session.  Crom- 
well as  Commander  of  the  Army  had  no  more  right 
in  that  assemblage  than  the  humblest  yeoman;  but 
he  said,  "  Necessity  is  upon  me."  He  entered  with  a 
guard  of  musketeers  and  pointing  to  the  golden 
mace,  said  "Take  away  yon  bauble!"  He  then 
commanded  the  legislators  to  retire,  locked  the  door 
and  took  the  key  away  with  him. 

That  was  the  end  of  the  English  Commonwealth. 
There  was  no  authority  in  England  thenceforth  but  that 
of  My  Lord  General.  He  ruled  as  a  military  dictator. 
He  convened  the  Barebones  Parliament,  its  members 
of  his  own  appointment,  and  presently  dissolved  it. 
He  then  named  a  military  commission,  by  which  he 
was  created  Lord  Protector  of  England.  He  declined 
the  offer  of  the  crown  with  the  significant  words:  "  I 
have  the  thing;  what  care  I  for  the  name  ?  It  would 
be  no  more  than  another  feather  in  my  hat. "  The  land 
prospered  under  the  four  years  of  his  arbitrary  rule. 

And  then,  in  1658,  he  died.  It  was  a  stormy 
Monday  night   in  August;  and  amid  the  tumult  of 


THREE   HUNDRED    YEARS.  303 

the  winds  his  prayer  was  heard:  "O  Lord,  I  am  a 
miserable  sinner;  but  I  am  in  covenant  with  thee, 
and  thou  wilt  not  leave  me." 

No  sooner  was  his  death  announced  than  his  work 
seemed  to  fall  asunder  like  a  house  of  cards.  Charles 
came  from  over  the  sea.  The  body  of  Cromwell  was 
taken  from  Westminster  Abbey  and  his  skull  was 
affixed  to  the  archway  of  Westminster  Hall.  But 
"  they  never  fail  who  die  "  or  live  "  in  a  great  cause. " 
It  is  easy  now,  looking  backward  over  three  centries, 
to  perceive  how  the  great  Roundhead  has  impressed 
himself  on  history.  In  this  brief  resume  of  his  life 
and  labors  we  have  gained  a  somewhat  comprehensive 
view  of  the  conditions  of  his  time:  let  us  now  turn  to 
the  developments  of  the  three  succeeding  centuries, 
as  they  are  formulated  in  our  present  civilization. 

I.  At  the  outset,  we  observe  a  new  Ideal  of  Character. 
It  is  impossible  to  judge  Cromwell  with  any  measure 
of  justness  by  the  standards  of  to-day.  If  President 
McKinley  were  to  enter  our  National  Congress  and 
dissolve  it  with  an  imperious  word ;  if  he  were  to 
take  command  of  a  troop  of  cavalry  and  sweep 
through  Georgia  to  vindicate  the  rights  of  the  colored 
people;  if  he  were  to  eject  from  their  pulpits  all 
ministers  declining  to  fall  in  with  his  religious  con- 
victions; if  he  were  to  usurp  all  the  functions  of  the 
judicial,  legislative  and  executive  departments  of  our 
Government  for  the  execution  of  personal  plans;  such 
measures  would  be  regarded  as  high-handed.  In 
Cromwell  they  can  only  measurably  be  excused  by 
the  necessity  of  the  occasion  and  the  customs  of  the 
time.  At  the  close  of  his  Scotch  campaign  he  sent 
two  shiploads  of  Covenanters  over  to  Massachusetts 


304  THREE   HUNDRED   YEARS. 

to  be  sold  into  slavery.  A  letter  of  the  Reverend  John 
Cotton  of  Boston  to  Cromwell,  under  date  July  25th, 
1651,  reads  as  follows:  "The  Scots,  whom  God  de- 
livered into  your  hands,  have  arrived  hither.  We 
have  been  desirous  to  make  their  yoke  easy.  Such  as 
were  sick  of  scurvy  and  other  diseases  have  not  wanted 
physic.  We  have  not  sold  them  into  perpetual  serv- 
itude, but  to  terms  of  six  or  seven  or  eight  years, 
as  the  case  may  be."  Such  conduct  is  surely  not  up 
to  the  requirements  of  these  days.  We  have  passed 
on  to  better  things.  It  is  not  for  nothing  that  the 
world  has  for  three  centuries  been  gazing  on  the  pic- 
ture of  the  ideal  Man. 

Ring  out  the  old,  ring  in  the  new  ! 
Ring  out  the  false,  ring  in  the  true! 
Ring  out  old  shapes  of  foul  disease, 
Ring  in  the  thousand  years  of  peace. 
Ring  in  the  valiant  man  and  free. 
The  larger  heart,  and  kindlier  hand. 
Ring  out  the  darkness  of  the  land, 
Ring  in  the  Christ  that  is  to  be  ! 

II.  It  is,  moreover,  a  new  world  that  we  are  living  in. 
In  Cromwell's  time  the  greatest  of  nations  was  Hol- 
land. There  was  the  center  of  universal  industry. 
There  only  had  the  controversy  of  civil  and  eccle- 
siastical freedom  been  fought  to  a  finish.  Holland 
alone  afforded  a  safe  refuge  for  all  the  proscribed  and 
suffering  of  the  earth. 

Spain  was  her  only  rival;  a  nation  of  adventurous 
navigators  going  out  in  all  directions  "  strange 
countries  for  to  see." 

As  for  England,  it  was  an  island  about  as  large  as 
the  Commonwealth  of   New  York,     Its  importance 


THREE    HUNDRED    YEARS.  305 

among  the  nations  began  with  Oliver  Cromwell.  He 
was  the  greatest  Englishman  that  ever  lived.  He  was 
the  maker  of  England.  By  a  proscriptive  tariff  he 
succeeded  in  building  up  her  industries  at  the 
expense  of  her  neighbors;  then,  sending  forth 
Admiral  Blake  with  a  whip  at  his  masthead,  he 
scourged  Van  Tromp  from  the  seas,  opened  all  ave- 
nues of  commerce  and  invited  the  world  to  come  and 
trade  with  England.  And  her  supremacy  has  con- 
tinued until  this  day. 

Holland  is  now  a  fourth-rate  power;  Spain  is  no 
longer  to  be  reckoned  with;  England  is  at  the  fore- 
front. How  long  her  pre-eminence  will  continue 
remains  to  be  seen.  Russia,  Germany,  France, 
Japan  and  America  are  factors  of  increasing  impor- 
tance in  the  problem.  In  any  case,  it  is  obvious  that 
the  world  is  a  far  larger  world  and  the  relations  of 
the  nations  more  complicated  than  in  Cromwell's 
time. 

III.  The  Importance  of  the  People  must  be  named  as 
another  of  the  important  developments  of  the  last  three 
centuries.  Cromwell  assumed  to  be  the  defender  of 
Popular  Rights;  in  point  of  fact  he  was  never  the 
chosen  representative  of  the  people.  He  confessed 
as  much  on  his  return  from  Ireland  when,  marching 
past  Temple  Bar,  he  said:  "A  great  multitude  have 
come  forth  to  greet  me;  but  there  would  be  a  greater 
if  I  were  to  be  hanged  this  day."  Indeed  there  were 
no  People,  as  we  understand  the  term,  in  those  days. 
The  people  were  mere  flies,  earth-worms.  Magna 
Charta  had  vindicated  the  barons;  but  the  value  of 
man  as  man  had  scarcely  been  discovered.  There 
were  rumblings  and  mutterings  as  of  pent-up  fire: 


306  THREE    HUNDRED    YEARS. 

but  the  French  Revolution  was  yet  to  come.  Burns 
had  not  sung  "A  man's  a  man  for  a*  that."  True, 
Cromwell  was  ahead  of  his  time;  but  there  was  less 
of  promise  for  the  cause  of  the  People  in  his  preten- 
tious "  Commonwealth  "  than  in  the  modest  cabin  of 
the  ship  that  sailed  from  Delft  Haven;  for  there  John 
Carver  was  presently  made,  by  popular  suffrage,  the 
Governor  of  a  new  Colony,  and  a  mighty  truth  was 
born  which  was  destined  to  proclaim  itself  from  Inde- 
pendence Hall  in  the  historic  words,  ' '  All  men  are  born 
free  and  equal  and  with  certain  inalienable  rights." 

IV.  There  is,  a/so,  a  new  conception  of  the  Church  to-day. 
In  Cromwell's  time  the  prevailing  opinion  was  in 
favor  of  uniformity.  There  was  no  room  on  earth 
for  both  Catholicism  and  Protestantism ;  one  must 
die  the  death.  The  Pope  wished  all  to  be  Catholics: 
Archbishop  Laud  was  determined  that  all  should  be 
Episcopalians:  there  were  some  foolish  folk  in  Scot- 
land who  were  minded  to  have  none  but  Presbyterians 
in  the  world:  and  Cromwell,  setting  himself  against 
Popery,  Prelacy  and  Presbytery  alike,  was  resolved 
that  all  should  be  Independents. 

There  are  persons  now  who  clamor  for  a  similar 
"  Church-union  ";  but  thoughtful  people  are  for  the 
most  part  convinced  that  denominationalism  gives 
the  best  expression  of  religious  freedom.  It  is  need- 
ful of  course  that  the  lines  of  cleavage  should  be  such 
that  the  various  parts  may  recognize  each  other  as 
members  of  the  one  body  of  Christ.  It  is  a  wise  say- 
ing: "  In  essentials  unity,  in  nonessentials  diversity, 
in  all  things  charity."  This  thought  of  division 
along  rational  lines,  with  agreement  as  to  cardinal 
principles,  marks  a  distinct  advance.     For  there  can 


THREE    HUNDRED    YEARS.  307 

be  no  freedom  of  conscience  unless  there  be  room  for 
difference  of  opinion  and  for  segregation.  In  this 
process  of  segregation  there  has  naturally  been  more 
or  less  of  acrid  controversy;  but  the  various  branches 
of  the  Christian  Church  are  coming  closer  together 
every  day  in  comity  and  cooperation:  they  are  seeing 
face  to  face  and  eye  to  eye;  they  are  advancing  to 
conquest  like  Israel  in  tribal  hosts,  all  following  the 
banner  of  the  Lion  of  Judah. 

V.  We  observe,  furthermore,  a  new  view  of  the  Relation 
of  Church  and  State.  Three  centuries  ago,  it  was  not 
supposed  that  the  Church  could  exist  without  the 
protection  of  the  secular  arm,  or  that  a  nation  could 
be  other  than  godless  without  a  religious  "establish- 
ment. "  This  union  has  been  justly  characterized  by  a 
famous  Irishman  as  "That  foul  and  adulterous  connec- 
tion which  pollutes  the  purity  of  heaven  with  the  abom- 
ination of  earth,  and  hangs  the  tattered  rags  of  political 
piety  on  the  insulted  cross  of  a  crucified  Redeemer." 

The  corruption  of  the  faith  of  Germany  is  largely 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  War  Lord  as  head  of  the 
National  Church  has  full  power  of  appointment  to  all 
chairs  of  religious  instruction  ;  so  that  the  German 
Universities  have  been  hotbeds  of  infidelity.  The 
English  Establishment  also  has  been  a  prolific  mother 
of  abominations.  This  union  of  Church  and  State  is 
against  nature.  It  involves  an  obvious  violation  of 
the  rights  of  conscience  as  between  man  and  man. 
It  fosters  a  spirit  of  fawning  sycophancy  which  has 
won  for  the  pulpit  the  name  "Coward's  Castle." 
There  are  no  more  shameless  paupers  than  cer- 
tain men  in  holy  orders,  with  fat  livings,  who  dare 
not  call  their  souls  their  own,  yet  look  down  upon 


308  THREE    HUNDRED    YEARS. 

"dissenters"  of  larger  piety  and  knowledge  as  an 
inferior  order.  Let  us  praise  God  that  the  days  of  dis- 
establishment seem  to  be  drawing  nigh.  Not  until  this 
age-old  evil  is  eradicated  can  there  be  any  real  parity  of 
the  clergy  or  just  distribution  of  rights  among  men. 

VI.  And  finally,  the  Field  of  Action  has  changed. 
In  Cromwell's  time  all  important  questions  were  set- 
tled by  the  arbitrament  of  the  sword.  The  Refor- 
mation itself  was  a  battle  of  a  hundred  years,  in 
which  the  whole  world  was  embroiled.  That  was  the 
fashion  of  those  days.  Thank  God,  we  are  breaking 
away  from  it. 

War  is  coming  to  be  looked  upon  with  righteous 
horror.  Never  was  a  more  righteous  conflict  than 
ours  with  Spain.  Yet  how  reluctantly  we  entered 
upon  it,  and  with  what  consideration  of  humanity  it 
was  carried  on.  Where  war  is  deemed  necessary  it 
is  waged  under  the  Code  of  Nations.  There  is  a  new 
science  of  International  Law.  The  only  further  step 
is  Arbitration.  Then  God  will  break  the  spear  in 
sunder  and  cast  the  chariot  into  the  fire. 

In  any  case  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  can  no  more  be 
propagated  by  the  sword.  The  Roundheads  heard 
the  voice  of  the  Lord  saying,  "  Go  fight!  "  We  hear 
him  saying,  "  Go  preach!  "  He  has  an  army  in  the 
field  to-day  made  up  of  the  bravest  men  that  ever 
enlisted  in  a  noble  cause.  They  are  braver  than  the 
Roundheads,  braver  than  the  Covenanters,  braver 
than  the  Huguenots,  braver  than  the  Beggars  of 
Holland.  They  represent  every  nation  in  Christen- 
dom ;  they  are  at  the  front  in  the  high  places  of  the 
field.  They  are  climbing  the  mountains,  not  as 
Napoleon's  troops  climbed  the  Alps,  with  great  guns: 


THREE    HUNDRED    YEARS.  309 

they  are  crossing  the  plains,  not  as  the  Roundheads 
crossed  the  Scottish  Moors,  with  crossbows  and  cul- 
verins.  "  How  beautiful  upon  the  mountains  are 
the  feet  of  him  that  bringeth  good  tidings,  that  pub- 
lisheth  peace;  that  bringeth  good  tidings  of  good, 
that  publisheth  salvation;  that  saith  unto  Zion,  Thy 
God  reigneth!  "  The  Church  wants  no  other  army. 
Her  missionaries  are  gone  abroad  with  the  evangel; 
they  are  the  vanguard  of  civilization.  They  are 
bringing  in  the  nations  as  prisoners  of  hope:  they 
are  heralds  of  the  coming  of  Christ. 

Our  brief  and  cursory  retrospect  has  shown  us  some 
of  the  significant  developments  of  three  centuries  of 
Christian  Civilization.  How  would  Cromwell  stand 
amazed  could  he  return  to  day!  In  his  time  there 
were  a  hundred  millions  of  nominal  Christians;  to- 
day there  are  five  hundred  millions  under  the  lumi- 
nous shadow  of  the  cross.  And  who  shall  lift  the  veil 
of  the  next  century?  For  all  this  is  a  mere  prepara- 
tion for  larger  things.  God  is  in  the  world;  and  the 
world  grows  better  every  day.  We  may  not  general- 
ize amid  the  smoke  of  battle ;  but  the  backward  look 
makes  one  thing  clear:  Everything  is  going  right.  The 
"  one  far-off  divine  event  to  which  the  whole  creation 
moves,"  comes  nearer  every  day.  The  future  of 
Christ's  Kingdom  is  assured.  Let  us  to  the  watch- 
tower;  the  King's  banners  are  waving  on  the  distant 
hills;  the  salvation  of  the  world  draweth  near. 

'  There's  a  fount  about  to  stream, 
There's  a  light  about  to  gleam, 
There's  a  midnight  darkness  changing  into  day  ; 
Men  of  thought  and  men  of  action, 
Clear  the  way  !" 


THE  FORBIDDEN  FRUIT 

"Now  the  serpent  was  more  subtil  than  any  beast  of  the  field  which  the 
Lord  had  made.  And  he  said  unto  the  woman,  Yea,  hath  God  said,  Ye  shall 
not  eat  of  every  tree  of  the  garden  ?  And  the  woman  said  unto  the  serpent, 
We  may  eat  of  the  fruit  of  the  trees  of  the  garden  :  but  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree 
which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  garden,  God  hath  said,  Ye  shall  not  eat  of  it, 
neither  shall  ye  touch  it,  lest  ye  die.  And  the  serpent  said  unto  the  woman, 
Ye  shall  not  surely  die :  for  God  doth  know  that  in  the  day  ye  eat  thereof, 
then  your  eyes  shall  be  opened,  and  ye  shall  be  as  gods,  knowing  good  and 
evil.  And  when  the  woman  saw  that  the  tree  was  good  for  food,  and  that  it 
was  pleasant  to  the  eyes,  and  a  tree  to  be  desired  to  make  one  wise,  she  took 
of  the  fruit  thereof,  and  did  eat,  and  gave  also  unto  her  husband  with  her ; 
and  he  did  eat." — Genesis  3,  1-6. 

Of  course  you  understand  this  is  a  mere  "fable." 
The  old  Book  as  interpreted  by  advanced  scholar- 
ship, is  full  of  such  folklore,  legend,  and  artful  fabri- 
cation. All  its  references  to  the  supernatural  must 
be  understood  in  that  way.  Is  it  the  fault  of  eminent 
critics  if  the  sacred  volume  is  thus  exposed  as  an 
incongruous  mixture  of  truth  and  falsehood  ?  Cer- 
tainly not!  For  are  not  these  critics  open  and 
avowed  lovers  of  Holy  Writ  ?  If  they  seem  to  be 
vociferous  at  times  in  impugning  its  truth,  it  is  only 
under  the  extreme  pressure  of  conscience;  the  same 
conscience  which  pathetically  asserts  their  devotion 
to  the  Scriptures  as  the  veritable  Word  of  God. 

A  paper  was  recently  read  in  one  of  our  ministerial 
circles  on  "The  Decline  of  the  Revival."  There 
was   a   time   when   God's   Spirit   came   down   upon 

(310) 


THE    FORBIDDEN    FRUIT.  31 1 

Churches  and  communities  in  widespread  quickening; 
so  that  Christians,  as  with  one  accord,  gave  them- 
selves anew  to  faithful  service,  and  the  unconverted 
being  pricked  to  the  heart  cried,  "Men  and  breth- 
ren, what  shall  we  do  ?  "  Then  the  cords  of  the 
Tabernacle  were  lengthened,  and  souls  sprang  up  like 
willows  by  the  water  courses.  But  how  can  such 
visitations  of  blessing  be  expected  when  not  a  few 
of  God's  ministers  deny  the  authority  of  his  Word ; 
and  the  laity,  in  many  quarters,  lend  their  counte- 
nance to  pulpit  pronunciamentos  which  surpass  the 
infidelity  of  Thomas  Paine  and  his  confreres  of  a 
hundred  years  ago?  "For  the  time  will  come," 
wrote  Paul  to  Timothy,  "when  they  will  not  endure 
the  sound  doctrine;  but,  having  itching  ears,  will 
heap  to  themselves  teachers  after  their  own  lusts, 
and  will  turn  away  their  ears  from  the  truth  and 
turn  aside  unto  fables."  God  will  not  bless  his 
people  under  such  conditions.  The  watchword  for 
the  hour  should  be,  Back  to  the  Bible!  We  can  look 
for  no  better  spiritual  conditions  until  we  show  our- 
selves loyal  to  the  divine  oracles;  for  both  conver- 
sion and  sanctification  are  wrought  by  the  power  of 
the  Spirit  through  the  Word  of  God. 

It  need  scarcely  be  said  that  the  Bible  is  in  no 
danger  of  being  overthrown  by  such  assaults.  The 
only  danger  is  of  disaster  to  its  enemies  and  an  utter 
decay  of  faith  on  the  part  of  those  who  follow  them. 
' '  The  voice  said,  'Cry ! ' — And  he  answered  '  What  shall 
I  cry? '  —  '  All  flesh  is  grass,  and  all  the  goodli- 
ness  thereof  is  as  the  flower  of  the  field:  the  grass 
withereth,  the  flower  fadeth;  but  the  Word  of  our 
God  shall  stand  forever! '  "     A  Spanish  frigate  in  the 


312  THE   FORBIDDEN   FRUIT. 

West  Indies  fired  all  night  on  a  hostile  ship  which 
loomed  through  the  mists  in  the  offing.  Broadside  on 
broadside  was  vainly  poured  upon  it.  The  sun  arose 
and  there  it  stood;  a  great,  silent  rock,  towering 
out  of  the  sea.  So  has  the  word  of  the  Lord  endured 
the  assault  of  its  enemies  through  the  centuries,  and 
so  shall  it  abide  forever. 

"  Hammer  away,  ye  rebel  bands  ; 
Your  hammers  break,  God's  anvil  stands." 

As  to  this  particular  "myth,"  concerning  the  Fall 
of  Man,  there  is  this  to  be  said;  it  rests  upon  data 
which  cannot  be  denied.  Here  we  are;  the  Race  is 
not  a  myth;  and  by  practically  universal  consent  the 
Race  is  traced  backward  to  a  single  pair.  Here, 
also,  is  Sin;  Sin  is  not  a  myth;  and  it  must  have 
had  a  beginning.  Why  may-it  not  have  begun  in  this 
way? 

The  Greeks  trace  its  origin  to  Prometheus,  who 
stole  fire  from  the  gods  and  gave  it  to  men. — The 
Persians  trace  it  to  the  whisper  of  the  serpent:  "All 
gracious  things  are  from  the  Black  Ahriman;"  which 
men  believed  and,  lo !  of  a  hundred  excellencies  all  but 
one  departed  from  them. — The  Buddhists  tell  of  a 
Golden  Age  when  the  leaves  never  withered  and  sor- 
row was  unknown ;  but  men  ate  of  a  scum  that  looked 
like  honeydew;  a  lie  was  uttered;  a  gray  hair  was 
seen ;  and  "  so  came  death  into  the  world  and  all  our 
woe."  All  the  false  religions  give  some  account, 
more  or  less  grotesque,  of  the  origin  of  evil;  in  com- 
parison with  which  the  Scriptural  statement,  for  its 
straightforward  simplicity  and  reasonableness,  com- 
mends itself  to  fair-minded  men. 

The  First  Item  in  the  narrative  is  Man;  that  is,  ge- 


THE   FORBIDDEN    FRUIT.  313 

neric  Man;  Adam  and  Eve  here  standing  as  the  com- 
plex head  of  the  race.  The  end  of  man's  creation 
was  the  glory  of  God.  It  is  written  that  God,  behold- 
ing his  finished  creation,  pronounced  it  "very  good"; 
but  as  yet  there  was  no  creature  to  look  upward  and 
say,  "I  thank  thee!"  Wherefore  God  created  man 
in  his  own  likeness  and  after  his  image,  breathing 
into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life  and  making  him  a 
living  soul. 

(1)  He  was  a  rational  being.  The  Greeks  called 
him  anthropos;  that  is,  "  the  uplooker. "  Plato  said, 
"  He  is  an  heavenly  plant  rising  as  from  a  root  and 
blossoming  toward  heaven."  Keppler  said,  "We  are 
able  to  think  God's  thoughts  after  him." 

(2)  He  was  also  a  moral  being;  that  is,  capable  of 
moral  character.  One  of  the  philosophers  defined 
man  as  "the  animal  that  laughs;  "  another  as  "  the 
animal  that  has  thumbs."  Benjamin  Franklin  called 
him  "the  tool-making  animal";  and  Adam  Smith, 
"the  animal  that  makes  bargains. "  The  one  feature, 
however,  which  differentiates  him  from  all  the  other 
orders  of  being  is  his  ability  to  discriminate  between 
right  and  wrong;  or,  as  Socrates  would  say,  between 
"  the  worse  and  better  reason." 

(3)  He  is  also  free ;  that  is,  possessed  of  a  sover- 
eign will.  This  is  involved  in  his  creation  after  the 
likeness  of  God.  He  was  made  sinless  but  not  right- 
eous. His  innocency  was  that  of  a  graven  image; 
righteousness  must  be  acquired  by  ordeal.  Herein 
is  the  making  of  a  man.  A  magnificent  outlook  is 
before  Adam  if  he  will  choose  aright;  if  he  will  avoid 
the  evil  and  prefer  the  good.  But  he  must  determine 
for  himself. 


314  THE   FORBIDDEN   FRUIT. 

Not  long  ago  "  The  Oregon  "  was  launched  from 
a  shipyard  at  the  Golden  Gate,  and  by -and -by 
set  out  for  a  voyage  around  The  Horn.  It  remained 
to  be  seen  whether  she  would  prove  herself  a  staunch 
and  trustworthy  man-of-war.  At  length  she  came 
plowing  up  along  the  Atlantic  coast  and  was  placed 
in  service  as  a  tried  and  trusty  craft;  she  had  "rounded 
the  Horn."  Thus  at  man's  creation  he  was  exposed 
to  trial;  the  test  was  temptation;  the  issue  was  char- 
acter. We  await  the  outcome;  the  destiny  of  the 
race  depends  upon  it. 

The  Second  Item  in  the  narrative  is  the  Tree.  At  this 
point  the  small  scholars  begin  to  question  whether  or 
no  it  was  a  fig-tree,  an  apple-tree  or  a  grapevine.  Is 
it  not  wearisome  to  sit  by  and  hearken  to  learned 
disquisitions  on  the  grain  and  fiber  of  wood,  when 
Destiny  is  in  the  balance?  Out  upon  the  learn- 
ing that  expends  itself  on  the  jot  and  tittle!  We 
stand  among  the  cafions  of  the  Yosemite,  overarched 
by  God's  great  conopy,  with  peaks  and  chasms  of 
sublimity  all  around  us,  and  are  interrupted  in  our 
silent  wonder  by  the  tap-tapping  of  a  hammer;  a 
geologist  in  the  company  is  chipping  off  specimens 
for  a  High  School  Museum!  In  point  of  fact  it  mat- 
ters not  what  particular  tree  of  Paradise  was  used  for 
the  testing  of  Adam;  one  would  answer  as  well  as 
another,  since  the  question  involved  was  obedience 
to  divine  law. 

The  Fall  of  Adam  was  most  unjustifiable  since  the 
advantage  was  so  greatly  in  his  favor.  He  had  no 
need  of  the  fruit  of  that  particular  tree.  The  garden 
was  full  of  others,  laden  with  fruit  pleasant  to  the 
eye  and  sweet  to  the  taste,  and  God  had  said,  "  Of 


THE    FORBIDDEN    FRUIT.  315 

every  tree  of  the  garden  thou  mayest  freely  eat,  but 
of  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  thou 
shalt  not  eat  of  it." — Moreover,  the  man  had  no  pred- 
ilection for  the  fruit  of  that  tree  ;  its  taste  was  not 
yet  upon  his  lips.  Alas  for  us!  we  are  handicapped 
by  having  formed  the  habit  of  sin.  We  have  made 
the  acquaintance  of  Vice,  of  which  it  is  written,  "  Fa- 
miliar with  her  face,  we  first  endure,  then  pity,  then 
embrace."  Resistance  is  hard  for  us. — And  still  fur- 
ther, Adam  had  been  distinctly  warned:  "  In  the  day 
thou  eatest  thereof  thou  shalt  surely  die." 

The  Third  Item  in  the  narrative  is  the  Serpent.  At  this 
point  the  small  scholars  wish  to  be  heard  again;  but 
their  objections  are  of  slight  consequence.  If  Satan 
is  to  appear  at  all,  it  might  as  well  be  in  the  form  of 
a  serpent  as  any  other.  He  would  not  be  permitted 
to  come  as  an  angel  of  light,  for  that  would  put  the 
man  at  a  disadvantage.  Nor,  on  the  other  hand, 
would  he  choose  to  appear  with  hoofs  and  horns,  for 
this  would  have  been  to  defeat  his  own  purpose.  He 
would  be  likely  to  present  himself  in  such  guise  as 
would  give  to  temptation  its  most  subtle  and  alluring 
form. 

It  is  a  fact  of  singular  importance,  in  view  of  pres- 
ent conditions,  that  the  temptation  on  this  occasion 
was  directed  at  Adam's  faith  in  the  divine  Word.  To 
begin  with  there  was  a  suggestion  of  doubt  as  to  its 
authenticity;  "Yea,  hath  God  said,  Ye  shall  not 
eat  ?  "  The  serpent  intimates  that  the  communication 
had  really  not  proceeded  from  the  Lord,  but  was  a 
myth  or  fable,  a  dream  perhaps,  or  figment  of  the 
imagination.  At  this  point  his  appeal  was  to  the 
inner    consciousness    as   the   ultimate   authority    in 


316  THE    FORBIDDEN    FRUIT. 

matters  of  truth.  "Did  God,  indeed,  say  this?  Does 
it  sound  like  him?  " — Next  there  was  a  suggestion  of 
doubt  as  to  the  inerrancy  of  the  Word;  "And  the 
serpent  said  unto  the  woman,  '  Ye  shall  not  surely 
die;'"  that  is,  it  could  scarcely  be  that  God  meant 
what  he  said ;  inasmuch  as  the  penalty  was  so  far  out 
of  proportion  to  the  trifling  offense  of  tasting  the 
fruit  of  a  certain  tree.  Here  again  the  inner  con- 
sciousness is  appealed  to  as  against  an  ipse  dixit. — 
Furthermore,  there  was  an  intimation  of  doubt  as  to 
the  sufficiency  and  completeness  of  the  Word:  "  For 
God  doth  know  that  in  the  day  ye  eat  thereof,  then 
your  eyes  shall  be  opened  and  ye  shall  be  as  gods 
knowing  good  and  evil;"  that  is,  revelation  was 
good  enough  so  far  as  it  went,  but  here  was  a  subtle 
scholar  who,  by  throwing  light  on  the  divine  motives, 
could  make  a  substantial  addition  to  it. 

So  far  as  appears,  there  is  only  one  thing  to  the 
serpent's  credit  in  this  transaction ;  to  wit,  he  made 
no  profession  of  loyalty  to  the  Word.  So  far  forth, 
he  was  an  honest  serpent.  He  did  not  ask  nor  profess 
to  be  in  holy  orders.  He  uttered  no  unctuous  phrases 
respecting  his  acceptance  of  the  fallible  Word  as  an 
"infallible  rule  of  faith  and  practice  "  or  his  devotion 
to  it,  despite  its  manifest  falseness,  as  the  veritable 
Word  of  God. 

The  Fourth  Item  in  the  narrative  is  Death.  The  or- 
der is,  Sin,  shame  or  loss  of  self-respect  ("they  cov- 
ered themselves  with  fig-leaves  "),  and  then  alienation 
from  God  ("the  Lord  called  unto  Adam,  Where  art 
thou?  And  he  answered,  I  heard  thy  voice  in  the 
garden  and  I  was  afraid  and  hid  myself  ").  But  yes- 
terday no  sound  of  singing  bird  or  murmuring  brook 


THE    FORBIDDEN    FRUIT.  317 

was  so  sweet  to  Adam  as  the  Voice  ;  now  he  fears 
and  trembles  to  hear  it.  This  is  death,  to  flee  from 
God.     This  is  hell,  to  be  forever  exiled  from  him. 

"And  they  did  eat!  "  How  simply  it  is  told;  but 
what  a  terrific  fact  is  here.  One  may  hear  afar  off 
the  sobs  and  groans  of  coming  generations  in  bond- 
age under  sin  ;  the  rattle  of  chains  and  clang  of  prison- 
bolts;  the  voice  of  heated  strife;  the  roll  of  chariots 
and  clash  of  swords.  The  Reign  of  Terror  has  begun. 
The  choice  has  been  made  between  good  and  evil, 
and  the  race,  descended  from  Adam  as  its  federal 
and  natural  head,  must  suffer  for  it. 

The  imputation  of  Adam's  sin  may  be  disposed  of 
in  few  words.  There  is  a  common  aversion  to  the 
so-called  Doctrine  of  "Original  Sin."  If  the  phrase 
is  offensive  let  us  have  done  with  it.  There  is,  how- 
ever, a  scientific  fact  which  meets  with  general 
acceptance  in  our  time,  known  as  "  Heredity." 
This  will  answer  every  purpose.  There  is  indeed 
no  disposition  in  any  quarter  to  deny  the  transmis- 
sion of  moral  evil  through  the  veins  of  the  children 
of  men. 

It  remains  to  mention  the  sequel.  No  sooner  had 
Adam  sinned  than  God  gave  the  prophecy  of  Christ: 
The  Seed  of  woman  shall  bruise  the  serpent's  head 
and  it  shall  bruise  his  heel.  Here  is  the  Protevangel; 
the  germ  of  all  the  Messianic  prophecies.  It  shines 
forth  like  a  star  through  a  rift  in  the  midnight  clouds ; 
it  will  presently  be  followed  by  another  star,  and  yet 
another,  until  the  blue  dome  of  Revelation  shall  be 
"  thick  inlaid  with  patines  of  bright  gold";  then  the 
bright  and  morning  star  with  healing  in  its  beams, 
and  then  a  burst  of  glory.     The  day  breaks,  with  the 


318  THE    FORBIDDEN    FRUIT. 

angels'  song,  "  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  peace  on 
earth  and  good  will  toward  men." 

It  is  written  that  the  gateway  of  Eden  was  guarded 
by  cherubim  and  "  a  flaming  sword  which  turned 
every  way."  But  scarcely  had  the  man  and  woman 
issued  from  the  garden  ere  they  built  an  altar,  on 
which  they  offered  a  sacrifice,  the  blood  of  which  was 
eloquent  of  the  coming  of  this  Seed  of  Woman,  who 
in  fulness  of  time  should  by  dying  expiate  their  sin. 
And  from  the  open  heavens  there  came  a  voice — the 
Voice  which  they  had  dreaded  to  hear — to  be  heard 
thenceforth  all  along  the  ages,  full  of  lovingkind- 
ness  and  tender  mercy,  "Come!  Come!  Come,  saith 
the  Lord;  let  us  reason  together;  though  your  sins 
be  as  scarlet,  they  shall  be  as  white  as  snow!  " 

The  practical  question  is  not  as  to  the  origin  of 
sin ;  but  rather,  How  shall  we  escape  from  it  ?  The 
man  who  finds  himself  in  a  burning  house  will  not 
pause  to  analyze  caloric  or  institute  an  inquiry  as  to 
the  origin  of  the  flame.  He  seeks  the  stairway,  the 
fire-escape.  Sin  is  a  patent  fact;  its  danger  is  uni- 
versally felt  in  "a  certain  fearful  looking-for  of 
judgment."  Is  there  away  out?  Aye,  blessed  be 
God!  "This  is  a  faithful  saying,  that  Christ  Jesus 
came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners. — He  bare  our 
sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree. — Whosoever  be- 
lieveth  in  him  hath  everlasting  life." 

As  I  sat  in  my  study  yesterday,  a  strange  visitor 
was  announced :  a  Syrian  priest  of  Aleppo  who,  for 
the  truth's  sake,  had  been  driven  from  home  and 
obliged  to  seek  refuge  beyond  the  sea.  He  could 
speak  scarcely  a  word  of  the  English  tongue,  but 
brought  a  satisfactory  letter  of   credence    from    the 


THE    FORBIDDEN    FRUIT.  319 

Missionary  College  in  Beirut.  I  strove  in  vain  to 
converse  with  him.  He  could  understand  only  a  few 
simple  phrases;  but  his  eyes  kindled  at  every  men- 
tion of  the  name  of  Jesus.  Finally  I  said,  "You 
believe  the  gospel?"  The  word  "believe"  seemed 
to  puzzle  him.  He  knit  his  brows,  as  if  trying  to 
recollect  where  he  had  heard  it;  then  in  slow,  meas- 
ured tones  he  repeated:  "  God-so— loved-the— worl d- 
that-he-gave-his-only-begotten-Son-that-whosoever- 
believeth— in-him— should— not— perish— but-have— eter- 
nal-life. "  So  much  he  knew  as  the  ground  and  pillar 
of  his  faith.  And,  dear  friends,  what  more  can  be  asked 
of  any  ?  It  is  the  great  crucial  fact  of  our  religion. 
He  who  accepts  that  in  sincerity  will  stagger  at  no 
other  Scripture.  All  theology  is  here;  all  Christian- 
ity is  here.  Sin  ruined  the  race;  but  God  so  loved 
the  world  that  he  gave  his  only-begotten  Son  to 
redeem  it. 


"AT  THEIR  WITS'  END" 

"  And  they  are  at  their  wits'  end."— Psalm  107,  27. 

The  men  who  "  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships  and 
do  business  in  great  waters,"  are  proverbially  super- 
stitious. It  is  due,  perhaps,  to  their  living  in  con- 
stant touch  with  the  supernatural:  for  there  is  but 
an  inch  of  oaken  plank  at  any  moment  between  them 
and  the  unseen  world.  The  horseshoe  nailed  to  the 
mast  is  a  rude  tribute  to  this  fact.  The  seafaring 
man  knows  that  he  is  in  the  grip  of  an  unseen  power* 
his  helplessness  is  ever  before  him. 

In  our  context  we  have  a  vivid  picture  of  a  storm. 
The  winds  and  waves  are  roaring:  the  ship  mounts 
up  to  heaven  and  plunges  again  into  the  depths;  the 
soul  of  the  hardy  crew  is  melted  within  them ;  they 
reel  to  and  fro  and  stagger  like  a  drunken  man,  and 
are  at  their  wits'  end.  What  then  ?  What  do  men  in 
sore  extremity  always  do?  "They  cry  unto  the 
Lord  in  their  trouble  and  he  bringeth  them  out  of 
their  distresses." 

Is  there  one  of  us  who  does  not  understand,  from 
personal  experience,  that  phrase  "at  their  wits' 
end  "  ?  Are  we  not  ever  coming  up  against  our  limi- 
tations ?  There  are  times  of  perplexity  and  bewilder- 
ment when  we  respond  instinctively  to  the  droll 
words  of  Alexander  Pope: 

(320) 


AT    THEIR    WITS     END.  32 1 

"  You  beat  your  pate,  hoping  your  wits  will  come ; 
Knock  as  you  please,  there's  nobody  at  home." 

What  is  to  be  done  under  such  circumstances  ? 
What  is  to  be  done  when  the  night  closes  in  and 
Euroclydon  is  upon  us  ?  We  can  do  no  better  than 
follow  the  example  of  Paul  and  his  companions  when 
they  were  driven  up  and  down  in  Adria;  they  "let 
go  four  anchors  from  the  stern  and  wished  for  the 
day."  It  is  vain  to  sit  gloomily  in  the  cabin  discuss- 
ing the  vibratory  theory  of  light;  equally  vain  to  go 
on  deck  and  hang  lanterns  at  peak  and  topmast. 
God  alone  can  give  the  morning;  he  alone  can  relieve 
distress;  the  part  of  reason  is  to  call  upon  him  and 
expect  the  day. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  generalize  in  this  discourse, 
"but  to  address  seven  persons  in  particular.  I  feel 
quite  sure  of  their  presence  in  this  assemblage,  and 
am  equally  confident  that  they  are  all  at  their  wits'  end. 

The  first  man  is  one  who  is  searching  for  truth.  I 
give  you  credit,  friend,  for  a  sincere  desire  to  reach  a 
just  solution  of  the  great  problems  of  the  eternal  life; 
but  you  are  overwhelmed  with  doubt  and  are  in  dan- 
ger of  downright  unbelief.  Is  it  not  so?  You  have 
been  trusting  to  your  own  wisdom  and  the  inevitable 
has  come;  you  are  at  your  wits'  end. 

In  the  innocent  years  of  childhood  we  believe  as  a 
matter  of  course.  The  cold  shadows  of  a  cynical 
and  materialistic  world  have  not  yet  closed  around 
us,  and  all  verities  seem  near  by.  We  reach  after 
the  stars,  as  for  flowers  growing  along  the  way.  The 
rainbow  is  just  yonder;  we  approach  it  as  confidently 
as  children  of  larger  growth  pass  under  triumphal 
arches.     The  heavens  are  but  the  overhanging  cur- 


322  AT    THEIR    WITS'    END. 

tains  of  our  playhouse.  O,  blessed  childhood !  Is  it 
not  wisely  written,  "  Except  ye  become  as  little  chil- 
dren ye  shall  in  no  wise  enter  the  kingdom  of  God"  ? 

But  in  the  progress  of  the  years  all  truths  recede; 
the  stars,  the  rainbow  and  the  sky  are  farther  and 
farther  from  us.  We  begin  to  inquire,  "  Is  there  a 
God  ?  "  and,  "  If  a  man  die,  will  he  live  again  ? "  We 
doubt  and  reason  and  apply  the  scientific  processes  of 
analysis  to  problems  that  can  only  be  solved  by  faith. 
The  real  conflict  of  the  soul  is  when  the  Argonauts 
are  thus  on  their  way  to  Colchis.  On  the  open  sea 
we  are  beaten  about  by  contrary  winds;  we  can 
manage  the  rigging,  but  the  stress  of  the  elements  is 
beyond  us ;  vain  is  the  hope  of  ever  finding  and  secur- 
ing the  Golden  Fleece.  Vain  indeed  unless  in  recog- 
nition of  our  infirmity  we  cry  unto  God! 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  we  are  worsted  in  spiritual 
argument  when  we  insist  on  meeting  the  adversary 
on  his  own  ground  ?  Doubt  yields  to  faith  alone. 
Our  unaided  wits  are  ever  at  a  disadvantage.  But 
God's  wisdom  is  infinite:  there  is  no  searching  of 
his  understanding.  If  we  fail  to  appeal  to  that,  the 
outcome  is  inevitable ;  doubt  deepens  into  agnosticism 
and  agnosticism  into  the  black  midnight  of  unbelief. 
It  would  have  been  well  had  we  recognized  our  limi- 
tations long  ago.  The  wisdom  of  Socrates  was  mani- 
fest in  the  remark,  "I  know  only  that  I  know  little 
or  nothing  at  all."  If  you  have  come  to  that  conclu- 
sion, friend,  you  must  see  the  reasonableness  of 
prayer.  Here  is  the  promise  for  you:  "If  any  man 
lack  wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God,  who  giveth  to  all 
men  liberally  and  upbraideth  not;  and  it  shall  be 
given  him  "  (James  i  :5). 


AT    THEIR    WITS     END.  323 

The  second  man  whom  I  wish  to  address  is  one  under 
conviction  of  sin.  All  are  sinners.  It  is  not  my 
purpose  to  carry  coals  to  Newcastle  by  trying  to 
demonstrate  a  fact  which  is  present  to  the  inner  con- 
sciousness of  all.  But  there  is  a  time  when  the  con- 
sciousness of  sin  sweeps  over  the  soul  with  the 
gathering  force  of  a  tempest;  when  a  man  feels  the 
exceeding  sinfulness  of  sin,  is  oppressed  with  a  cer- 
tain fearful  looking-for  of  judgment,  beats  upon  his 
breast  in  utter  helplessness  and  confesses  that  he  is 
at  his  wits'  end. 

It  was  so  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost  when  the 
assembled  people  realized  the  presence  of  God's 
Spirit  in  the  sound  of  a  rushing  mighty  wind.  And 
when  one  arose  in  the  midst  and  pointed  out  their 
guilt  as  accessory  to  the  crucifixion  of  the  Just  One, 
showing  the  red  stains  of  murder  on  their  hands, 
they  were  pricked  to  the  heart  and  cried  out,  "  Men 
and  brethren,  what  shall  we  do?"  It  may  be  that 
you,  my  friend,  by  some  visitation  of  adversity  or 
extraordinary  demonstration  of  the  supernatural, 
have  been  driven  to  a  like  extremity.  What,  then, 
will  you  do  ?  Penance  ?  Nay;  it  is  unnecessary  to 
tell  a  thoughtful  man  that  fire  cannot  burn  out  guilt 
or  that  expiation  is  not  wrought  by  scourging  the 
body  for  the  sins  of  the  soul.  Good  works,  then  ? 
Nay,  since  every  hour  is  but  sufficient  unto  itself, 
how  can  future  obedience  blot  out  the  record  of  a 
mislived  past.  What  remains  for  you,  then,  but  to 
throw  up  your  hands  and  cry  mightily  unto  God  ? 

At  a  like  juncture  in  the  life  of  David,  when  he  was 
hunted  like  a  roe  among  the  hills,  and  driven  to  bay, 
he  made  his  appeal  to  a  Power  beyond  his  own    and 


324  AT    THEIR    WITS     END. 

not  in  vain.  "This  poor  man  cried,"  he  says,  "and 
the  Lord  heard  him  and  saved  him  out  of  all  his 
troubles." 

The  dying  thief  had  reached  the  uttermost  limit  of 
despair  when  he  cried  "  Lord,  remember  me  !  "  Not 
a  moment  elapsed  before  the  answer  came,  "  To-day 
thou  shalt  be  with  me  in  Paradise."  There  is  hope 
for  a  sinner  who  knows  himself  to  be  lost;  and  there 
is  no  hope  for  any  other:  for  "  the  Son  of  Man  came 
to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost."  So  long  as 
resources  of  your  own  remain,  you  are  likely  to  de- 
pend upon  them;  but  if  you  have  come  to  the  end  of 
your  tether,  it  is  obviously  the  part  of  reason  to  look 
unto  the  hills  for  help.  There  is  hope  for  you,  there- 
fore, my  troubled  friend,  in  the  word  that  is  written, 
"The  Son  of  Man  hath  power  on  earth  to  forgive 
sin." 

The  third  man  of  whom  I  ask  an  audience  is  one 
who  is  confronting  duty  and  feels  he  cannot  discharge 
it.  There  is  nothing  in  the  world  so  important  as 
this,  that  we  should  meet  our  responsibilities  and  dis- 
charge our  utmost  duty  to  ourselves  and  our  fellow- 
men.  Yet  who  is  sufficient  for  this  ?  Are  we  not  all 
sensible  of  shortcoming,  of  avoiding  our  responsibili- 
ties, of  shirking  the  burden  which  is  laid  upon  us  ? 

It  is  the  fashion  in  these  times  to  discredit  the  story 
of  Jonah.  In  fact,  however,  there  is  nothing  in  Holy 
Writ  that  meets  a  quicker  or  more  sympathetic  re- 
sponse in  the  soul  of  the  average  man.  The  prophet 
was  told  to  go  to  Nineveh  at  peril  of  his  life.  He 
pondered,  questioned,  and  finally  resolved  to  meet 
the  matter  half-way.  He  would  not  go  to  Nineveh, 
but  he  would  go  tc   Tarshish.      So  he  paid  his  fare, 


AT    THEIR    WITS     END.  325 

took  ship,  went  down  into  the  hold  and,  having 
quieted  conscience  with  a  compromise,  fell  asleep. 
So  far,  my  friend,  the  parallel  is  not  difficult  to  find  in 
personal  experience.  And  as  Jonah  slept,  the  storm 
arose  and  down  into  the  hold  came  a  voice,  "Arise, 
O  sleeper,  and  call  upon  thy  god !  "  (Have  you  never 
been  awakened  by  a  similar  voice  ?)  He  appeared  on 
deck,  saying,  "  I  fear  the  Lord,  and  I  know  that  for 
my  sake  this  great  tempest  is  come  upon  you."  So 
they  cast  him  forth  into  the  sea.  As  to  what  followed, 
let  him  speak  for  himself:  "I  cried  by  reason  of 
mine  affliction  unto  the  Lord,  and  he  heard  me.  Out 
of  the  belly  of  hell  cried  I.  The  waters  compassed  me 
about,  the  weeds  were  wrapped  about  my  head.  My 
soul  fainted  within  me;  I  cried  aloud,  and  he  heard 
me.      Salvation  is  of  the  Lord." 

It  is  of  infinite  mercy  that  we  are  thus  arrested  in 
the  avoidance  of  duty,  and  brought  to  realize  how 
much  easier  it  is  to  do  right  with  the  Lord's  help 
than  to  have  our  own  way.  The  hardest  task  is 
within  the  power  of  the  weakest  man  who  leans  on 
an  almighty  arm.  The  word  of  hope  is  here:  "  I  can 
do  all  things  through  Christ  which  strengtheneth  me." 

The  fourth  man  whom  I  would  particularly  address 
is  one  who  faces  temptation.  From  this  there  is  no 
escape.  It  is  vain  to  betake  oneself  to  a  hermit's  cell; 
the  adversary  will  pursue  us. 

It  may  be,  friend,  that  you  have  been  striving  to 
overcome  an  evil  habit,  and  you  have  fallen  once, 
twice,  thrice.  Are  you  discouraged  ?  Are  you  quite 
satisfied  as  to  your  personal  inability  ?  Have  you 
come  to  your  wits' end  ?  God  be  praised!  There  is 
hope  for  you. 


326  AT    THEIR    WITS'    END. 

How  can  a  man  expect  to  succeed  in  his  own 
strength  when  he  wrestles  not  only  against  principal- 
ities and  powers,  but  against  the  prince  of  darkness  ? 
But  if  God  be  for  us,  who  shall  be  against  us  ?  Try 
once  more,  comrade,  and  this  time  in  the  strength  of 
the  Omnipotent.  Throw  thyself  on  God.  Put  him  in 
remembrance  of  his  great  promises.  Be  confident  in 
him.  Go  out  against  thine  enemy  as  the  shepherd 
boy  went  forth  to  meet  Goliath  in  the  valley  of 
Elah.  The  sword  of  Saul  and  armor  of  Saul  were  re- 
jected ;  faith  was  his  only  panoply.  As  he  approached 
his  boastful  foe  he  cried,  "Thou  comest  to  me  with 
sword  and  buckler,  but  I  come  to  thee  in  the  name 
of  the  living  God!  "  The  result  was,  as  it  always  is 
under  like  conditions,  he  came  up  from  the  valley 
dragging  the  head  of  Goliath  by  its  gory  hair. 
Victory  for  you,  or  for  any  man  who,  being  at  his 
wits'  end,  girds  himself  with  divine  power  !  Here  is 
the  word  fc  your  present  stress:  "God  is  faithful 
who  will  not  suffer  you  to  be  tempted  above  that  ye 
are  able,  but  will  with  the  temptation  also  make  a 
way  of  escape,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  bear  it." 

The  fifth  man  is  one  in  trouble.  I  know  not  what 
the  trouble  is,  my  friend;  the  heart  knoweth  its  own 
bitterness.  Is  it  pain  perhaps  ?  God  was  with  the 
Babylonish  youth  in  the  fiery  furnace.  Is  it  pov- 
erty ?  He  sent  the  ravens  to  feed  his  prophet  by  the 
brook.  Is  it  abandonment  and  loneliness  ?  No  man 
was  ever  lonelier  than  Jacob  in  the  heights  of  Bethel, 
where  he  saw  God's  angels  coming  down  a  golden 
ladder  to  help  him.  Is  it  disappointment?  Have 
you  dreamed  dreams  and  seen  visions  of  success  only 
to    find    your   hopes   thwarted    and    your   purposes 


AT    THEIR    WITS     END.  327 

brought  to  naught  ?  So  did  Elijah  fling  himself  in 
utter  desperation  under  the  juniper  tree  crying,  "It 
is  enough;  let  me  die!"  But  a  Voice  said,  "Arise 
and  eat."  And  he  looked  and,  behold,  a  cake  baken 
on  the  coals  and  a  cruse  of  water;  and  he  arose  and  did 
eat  and  drink,  and  went  in  the  strength  of  that  meat 
forty  days  and  forty  nights  unto  the  mount  of  God. 

Be  of  good  courage,  if  in  failure  you  have  dis- 
covered the  utmost  limit  of  your  strength;  for  at 
that  limit  ever  stands  the  waiting  God.  A  man's 
making  is  in  his  triumph  over  circumstances  by  faith 
in  God.  So  wrote  Paul,  "We  are  troubled  on  every 
side,  yet  not  distressed ;  we  are  perplexed,  but  not  in 
despair;  persecuted,  but  not  forsaken;  cast  down, 
but  not  destroyed  "  ;  "  that  the  excellency  of  the  power 
may  be  of  God  and  not  of  us." 

The  strength  of  God  is  thus  made  perfect  in  weak- 
ness. Our  extremity  is  God's  opportunity.  We 
laugh  at  difficulty ;  we  exult  in  the  storm  ;  we  triumph 
when,  with  disjointed  thigh,  we  stagger  to  the  feet 
of  the  Mightiest  This  is  the  truth  in  the  quaint 
words  of  Herrick: 

"  Tumble  me  down,  and  I  will  sit 

Upon  my  ruins,  smiling  yet. 
Tear  me  to  tatters,  yet  I'll  be 

Patient  in  my  necessity. 
Laugh  at  my  scraps  of  clothes  and  shun 

Me  as  a  dire  infection, 
Yet  scarecrow-like  I'll  walk  as  one 

Neglecting  thy  derision." 

The  sixth  ma?i  is  he  who  stands  in  terror  of  death. 
It  is  a  great  question,  How  to  die  ?  For  the  black 
camel  kneels  at  every  tent.    The  man  who  approaches 


328  AT    THEIR    WITS*    END. 

alone  the  valley  of  the  shadow  is  always  at  his  wits' 
end ;  it  is  obviously  the  height  of  folly  to  put  away 
preparation  for  the  journey  until  the  hour  of  setting 
out.  To  make  God's  acquaintance  amid  the  busy 
duties  of  life  is  to  know  him  in  the  hour  that  trieth 
the  soul.  "Yea,  though  I  walk  through  the  valley 
of  the  shadow  of  death,  yet  I  will  fear  no  evil,  for 
thy  rod  and  thy  staff  they  comfort  me." 

I  have  heard  of  a  lad  who,  being  taken  by  his  father 
on  a  long  voyage,  was  miserably  dreary  and  home- 
sick. As  the  ship  sailed  homeward  he  brightened  day 
by  day.  On  the  night  of  entering  the  harbor  the  little 
fellow  lay  asleep  in  his  berth.  He  was  dimly  con- 
scious of  the  casting  of  the  anchor  and  voices  of 
sailors  above  him ;  then  of  being  lifted  in  his  father's 
arms  and  carried  down  the  rope-ladder  into  the  little 
boat;  then  of  the  splashing  of  waves  and  beating  of 
oars;  then,  still  half  asleep,  of  being  carried  in  strong 
arms  and  laid  in  his  little  bed ;  then  he  awoke  and  it 
was  morning,  and  his  mother's  face  was  bending  over 
him.  Such  is  death  to  those  who  are  ready.  It  is 
being  taken  up  in  everlasting  arms  and  carried 
through  the  night,  to  awake  in  the  home-land  and  be 
forever  with  the  Lord. 

And  my  seventh  auditor  is  the  man  who  fears  the 
Judgment.  Nor  is  your  fear  ungrounded,  my  friend; 
since  you  are  well  aware  that  at  the  great  Assize,  you 
must  plead  guilty.  There,  if  never  before,  you  will 
feel  yourself  at  your  wits'  end.  What  then?  O  joy 
unspeakable,  if  you  can  look  with  confidence  to  him 
who  with  uplifted,  nail-scarred  hands  shall  plead  your 
case,  shall  offer  himself  as  your  Substitute  in  expi- 
ation of  the  penalties  of  broken  law!     I  know  not 


AT    THEIR    WITS'   END.  329 

what  a  sinner  can  say  for  himself  in  that  Great  Day, 
if  he  cannot  make  this  plea;  "  He  bare  my  sins  in  his 
own  body  on  the  tree."  Thus  it  is  written:  "If  any 
man  sin,  we  have  an  Advocate  with  the  Father,  even 
Jesus  Christ  the  righteous." 

"  Great  God,  when  I  approach  Thy  throne, 
And  all  Thy  glory  see, 
This  is  my  plea,  and  this  alone, 
That  Jesus  died  for  me." 

And  now,  in  closing,  I  feel  reasonably  sure  that  I 
have  addressed  not  seven  men,  but  all  before  me. 
For,  are  we  not  all  truth-seekers,  all  sensible  of  sin, 
all  under  the  stern  obligation  of  duty,  all  facing 
temptations  beyond  our  strength,  all  pilgrims  in  the 
Vale  of  Baca,  all  bound  to  pass  through  the  little 
wicket-gate  and  stand  at  last  in  judgment?  If  then 
we  are  all  convinced  of  our  narrow  limitations  and 
forced  to  confess  ourselves  at  our  wits'  end,  why  shall 
we  not  get  down  upon  our  knees  to-night  and  call 
upon  him  who  is  ever  able,  ever  willing,  ever  ready 
to  help?  Cry  aloud  unto  God!  If  he  spared  not  his 
own  Son,  but  delivered  him  up  for  us  all,  how  shall 
he  not  with  him  also  freely  give  us  all  things  ?  He 
heard  David  in  his  distress,  and  he  will  hear  you.  He 
heard  Peter  when  the  waters  were  closing  about  him, 
and  he  will  hear  you.  He  heard  the  dying  thief  in 
his  despair,  and  he  will  hear  you.  O  that  men  would 
praise  the  Lord  for  his  goodness  and  for  his  wonder- 
ful works  to  the  children  of  men! 


INDIFFERENT  GALLIO 

"And  Gallio  cared  for  none  of  those  things."— Acts  18, 17. 

The  Jews  of  Corinth  had  long  been  annoyed  by  a 
pestilent  fellow  who  insisted  on  preaching  that  "Jesus 
is  the  Christ."  This  man  had  formerly  been  a  Rabbi 
of  high  standing,  a  member  of  the  Sanhedrin  at 
Jerusalem  ;  but  he  claimed  to  have  had  a  supernatural 
vision  of  Jesus  which  changed  the  whole  tenor  of  his 
life.  He  had  come  to  Corinth  two  years  ago;  and, 
while  working  as  a  tentmaker  for  his  livelihood, 
made  a  point  of  visiting  the  synagogue  Sabbath  by 
Sabbath  and  endeavoring  to  prove  out  of  the  Scrip- 
tures "  that  this  Jesus  is  the  Christ."  On  being  cast 
out  of  the  synagogue  he  had  accepted  the  invitation 
of  a  certain  Justus  who  lived  near  by,  to  use  his  home 
for  the  propagation  of  his  views:  and  thus  he  had 
continued  to  the  discomfiture  of  his  Jewish  enemies. 
At  length,  however,  there  seemed  a  prospect  of  relief 
in  the  appointment  of  Gallio  as  proconsul  of  Achaia. 
On  his  arrival  at  Corinth  the  Jews  seized  on  the  con- 
tumacious preacher  and  dragged  him  before  the 
court,  making  this  formal  charge,  "He  persuadeth 
men  to  worship  God  contrary  to  the  law."  Paul  was 
about  to  make  his  defense  when  Gallio  interposed : 
"  If  this  were  a  matter  of  wrong  or  wicked  lewdness, 
reason  would  that  I  should  bear  with  you ;  but  in  a 

(330) 


INDIFFERENT    GALLIC  33 1 

question  of  your  'law,'  look  ye  to  it;  I  will  be  no 
judge  of  such  matters."  As  the  accusers,  stung  with 
defeat,  were  leaving  court,  they  were  set  upon  by 
certain  Greeks  who  seized  the  ruler  of  the  synagogue, 
and  beat  him  shamefully  in  sight  and  hearing  of  the 
judgment-seat.  To  Gallio,  however,  this  was  mere 
by-play  and  quite  beneath  his  notice.  He  looked 
through  his  fingers  and  winked  at  it.  Why  should 
he  interfere  in  petty  strife  or  in  the  quibbling  of 
theological  parties?  He  "cared  for  none  of  those 
things." 

Here  is  a  distinct  and  interesting  type  of  character, 
not  unworthy  of  our  study.  Gallio  was  a  brother  of 
Seneca;  a  skeptic  like  that  great  moralist,  but  a  most 
amiable  one.  He  was  a  man  of  broad  culture, 
thoroughly  familiar  with  literature  and  an  expert  in 
Roman  jurisprudence.  He  is  called  in  the  records 
of  the  time,  dulcis  Gallio.  He  was  immensely  popular 
by  reason  of  his  complaisance  and  amiable  disposi- 
tion; but,  he  was  wholly  indifferent  to  many  things, 
and  among  them  the  problems  of  the  spiritual  life. 
He  probably  regarded  these  as  quite  unsolvable; 
being  an  agnostic,  after  the  fashion  of  his  time.  He 
was  the  product  of  the  overwrought  culture  of  that 
luxurious  age,  an  age  which  has  been  fitly  character- 
ized by  Matthew  Arnold: — 

"  On  that  hard  Roman  world  disgust 

And  sated  loathing  fell: 
Deap  weariness  and  sated  lust 

Made  human  life  a  hell. 
In  his  cool  hall,  with  haggard  eyes, 

The  noble  Roman  lay, 
Or  drove  abroad  in  furious  guise 

Along  the  Appian  Way. 


332  INDIFFERENT    GALLIC 

He  made  a  feast  ;  drank  deep  and  fast, 
And  crowned  his  head  with  flowers. 

No  easier  and  no  swifter  passed 
The  impracticable  hours." 

I  invite  you  to  a  brief  contemplation  of  this  attitude 
of  mind;  an  indifference  to  matters  of  supreme  im- 
portance, born  of  baffled  research  or  moral  weariness. 
It  not  infrequently  consists  with  great  sweetness  of 
disposition,  broad  erudition  and  the  utmost  respecta- 
bility. It  betrays,  however,  a  lamentable  want  of 
virility  and  true  courage.  A  man  can  not  be  indif- 
ferent to  great  spiritual  verities  without  being  an 
indifferent  sort  of  man. 

I.  As  to  the  Previous  Question.  Back  of  all  this  con- 
troversy lay  the  proposition  of  Paul,  "This  Jesus  is 
the  Christ."  And  while  it  would  appear,  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  narrative,  that  Gallio  was  simply  indiffer- 
ent to  the  party  quibblings  of  the  synagogue,  he  was 
in  fact  turning  his  back  on  the  fundamental  problem 
of  life  eternal.  As  a  man  of  affairs,  familiar  with  the 
religious  controversies  of  his  time,  he  must  have 
known  about  the  disputed  claims  of  Jesus.  It  was 
twenty-two  years  since  the  crucifixion,  yet  the  dis- 
pute concerning  the  Man  of  Nazareth  had  gone  on 
continuously  ever  since.  Would  his  specter  never  be 
laid  ?  Never!  This  question  must  be  confronted 
and  settled  by  every  man. 

The  blame  of  Gallio  in  refusing  to  consider  the 
claims  of  Jesus  as  the  Christ  must  be  measured  by 
circumstances.  He  probably  regarded  this  as  a  mat- 
ter of  mere  provincial  importance,  not  knowing  that 
his  own  salvation  was  in  the  balance.  He  had  doubt- 
less discussed   many  questions  in   the  forum  and  in 


INDIFFERENT    GALLIC  333 

philosophic  halls,  but  never  one  so  intensely  personal 
as  this:  "  Is  Jesus  the  Christ  ?" 

But  what  shall  be  said  of  a  man  who,  in  the  Nine- 
teenth Century,  "cares  nothing  for  this  thing"? 
The  proposition  is  that  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the 
world  to  save  sinners;  and  we  know  ourselves  to  be 
all  alike  concluded  under  sin.  This  proposition  is 
sustained  by  the  claim  of  Jesus  himself,  by  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  by  the  eloquent  events  of  eighteen  cen- 
turies of  Christian  progress,  and  by  the  united  testi- 
mony of  some  hundreds  of  millions  of  people  who 
are  prepared  to  certify  that  this  Jesus  has  delivered 
them  from  sin's  bondage  and  opened  to  them  the 
gates  of  the  endless  life.  In  view  of  these  facts  we 
conceive  it  possible  that  a  man  may  consider  the  cre- 
dentials of  Jesus  and  decide  adversely;  but  it  is  in- 
comprehensible how  any  can  be  indifferent.  In  a 
matter  involving  the  issues  of  eternity,  heedlessness 
is  a  sin  against  reason  and  indecision  a  crime  against 
conscience.  If  the  claim  of  Jesus  be  false,  his  gospel 
is  the  greatest  imposture  of  history;  if  it  be  true,  our 
destiny  for  eternity  depends  on  ouracceptance  of  him. 

II.  As  to  Other  Questions  involved  in  the  Messiahship 
of  Jesus.  Had  Gallio  interested  himself  in  the  con- 
troversy brought  before  him  that  day  for  adjustment, 
he  must  have  been  driven  to  a  decision  pro  or  con  as 
to  other  and  affiliated  matters  of  great  importance; 
such  as  the  Incarnation,  the  Blood-atonement,  the 
Resurrection,  the  veracity  of  the  Scriptural  record 
and  the  Personality  of  the  Spirit:  These  are  vitally 
connected  with  the  fact  contended  for  by  Paul  at 
Antioch:   "This  Jesus  is  the  Christ." 

We  are  living  in  an  age  of  controversy;   and  the 


334  INDIFFERENT    GALLIC 

questions  now  uppermost  are  these  very  ones.  What 
shall  we  do  with  them  ?  Let  them  pass  ?  In  some 
quarters  it  is  said,  "If  we  receive  Christ  as  our  Sav- 
iour, it  matters  little  what  opinion  we  hold  as  to 
these  controverted  dogmas.  Christ  is  everything: 
let  the  rest  go."  But  this  is  impossible.  As  well 
say,  "Let  us  keep  Darwin  but  ignore  his  theory  of 
Evolution";  or,  "Let  us  keep  Galileo  but  take  no 
account  of  the  revolution  of  the  earth."  As  well  say, 
"  Let  us  keep  life  but  give  no  heed  to  air,  water  and 
food."  We  cannot  accept  Christ  and  slight  his  teach- 
ings. We  cannot  accept  Christ  and  spurn  the  essen- 
tial truths  which  radiate  from  his  life,  character  and 
work.  Christ  and  Christianity  are  inseparable.  The 
strength  of  a  chain  is  measured  by  its  weakest  link. 
The  credentials  of  the  great  Teacher  are  to  be  deter- 
mined by  the  weakest  truth  to  which  he  gave  sanc- 
tion. We  cannot  have  Christ  without  believing  in 
him. 

In  other  quarters  it  is  suggested  that  matters  of 
theological  import  should  be  turned  over  for  settle- 
ment to  "experts."  This  applies  particularly  to  the 
Inerrancy  of  Holy  Scripture,  but  in  some  measure  to 
all  allied  truths.  As  a  minister  of  the  gospel  I  resent 
the  claim  of  any  particular  class  of  specialists  to  a 
monopoly  of  wisdom  in  this  province.  The  pre- 
sumption, indeed,  is  in  favor  rather  of  those  who 
have  devoted  themselves  to  religious  investigation 
while  in  close  contact  with  affairs,  as  against  any 
who  pursue  their  researches  in  academic  cloisters  by 
the  light  of  midnight  oil.  But  justice  to  the  gospel 
requires  that  we  shall  go  a  step  further,  and  assert 
the  rights  of  the  people  in  these  premises.      There  is 


INDIFFERENT    GALLIC  335 

no  such  thing  as  "esoteric  Christianity."  There  are 
no  "mysteries,"  such  as  are  found  in  Pagan  Relig- 
ions, to  be  imparted  only  to  the  initiated.  The  glory 
of  our  religion,  the  historic  glory  of  Protestantism, 
is  that  no  Scripture  is  of  such  private  interpretation. 
Scholars  have  their  place,  indeed ;  but  the  height  of 
arrogance  is  reached  when  they  call  upon  the  people 
to  stand  aloof  while  they  lift  the  curtains  and  pass 
into  the  sanctum  sanctorum  to  solve  for  us  the  prob- 
lems which  concern  our  eternal  life.  Are  we  to 
waive  our  acceptance  of  the  Incarnation,  the  Atone- 
ment, the  Infallibility  of  the  Word,  until  "experts" 
shall  give  us  leave  to  accept  their  ultimatum  ?  Not 
so  have  we  learned  the  gospel.  Its  vital  truths,  clear 
as  a  crystal  spring,  are  to  be  accepted  by  faith,  but- 
tressed by  reason  and  resting  on  divine  authority. 

It  is  recorded  that  when  the  Council  of  Nice  was 
engaged  in  heated  controversy  the  shepherd  Spiridion 
limped  in.  He  had  proven  his  devotion  by  suffering 
for  the  truth's  sake :  one  eye  had  been  pierced  with  a 
hot  iron  and  one  leg  had  been  twisted  off.  "  In  the 
name  of  Christ,"  he  said,  "O  philosophers,  hear  me! 
Our  Lord  came  into  the  world  and  died  for  our  sal- 
vation. He  taught  many  things  and  his  word  is  an 
end  of  controversy.  To  know  him  is  to  know  all ;  to 
accept  him  is  to  accept  all.  We  who  are  but  common 
men  challenge  your  right  to  reduce  our  religion  to  a 
system  of  wire-drawn  argument.  We  put  you  in  re- 
membrance of  what  Jesus  said,  '  Except  ye  become 
as  little  children,  ye  shall  in  no  wise  see  the  kingdom 
of  God.'" 

III.  As  to  Questions  of  Conscience.  These  also  are 
closely  related  to  the  original  question  of  the  Mes- 


336  INDIFFERENT    GALLIO. 

siahship  of  Christ.  In  the  false  religions  a  line  is 
drawn  between  dogma  and  life;  but  there  is  no  such 
distinction  in  Christianity.  Doctrine  and  ethics  are 
vitally  associated:  for  "as  a  man  thinketh  in  his 
heart  so  is  he."  Had  Gallio  been  willing  to  face  the 
rigid  claims  of  Jesus  as  the  only  Saviour,  he  must 
have  proceeded  to  a  corresponding  determination  of 
all  questions  of  conduct. 

There  are  some  things  which  are  always  right  or 
always  wrong.  Here  runs  "the  dead  line."  The 
follower  of  Christ  must  not  hesitate  for  a  moment  as 
to  those  matters  which  are  defined  in  the  Decalogue 
and  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  Impiety,  dis- 
honesty, Sabbath-breaking,  murder,  scandal-monger- 
ing,  licentiousness,  covetousness;  these  are  always 
wrong,  under  all  circumstances:  and  nothing  can 
ever  make  them  right. 

But  there  are  other  things  which  are  right  or 
wrong  according  to  circumstances.  The  idol-meats 
of  Corinth  furnish  an  illustration:  (1  Cor.  viii.). 
There  are  people  who  claim  the  right  to  indulge  in 
intoxicating  drink ;  and  while  certain  of  us  see  clearly 
the  duty  of  abstinence  for  ourselves,  it  is  not  for  us 
to  impose  the  determinations  of  our  conscience  on 
others.  But  there  must  be  no  indifference  here. 
Let  each  for  himself  decide,  prayerfully,  in  the  light 
of  Biblical  precept  and  Christian  charity.  "Let 
every  man  be  fully  persuaded  in  his  own  mind." 
The  danger  is  not  so  much  in  a  difference  of  opinion 
as  in  indecision.  If  you  are  in  doubt  as  to  the  wine- 
glass, give  your  conscience  the  benefit  of  the  doubt, 
by  all  means.  And  in  any  case,  when  you  have 
determined  the  right,  let  not  a  legion  of  devils  tempt 


INDIFFERENT    GALLIC  337 

you  to  swerve  from  it;  for  nothing  can  compensate 
a  man  for  a  violation  of  his  moral  sense. 

One  thing  is  never  right,  to  wit,  indifference  to  the 
distinction  between  right  and  wrong.  The  most  con- 
temptible legend  that  ever  was  inscribed  on  any 
shield  was  that  of  the  so-called  "resolute  Rufus," 
who,  having  the  name  of  Jehovah  on  one  side  and  of 
Satan  on  the  other,  wrote  above  them,  "  In  utrwnque 
J>aratus" j  i.e.,  "  Ready  for  either!  " 

IV.  As  to  the  great  Question  of  the  Welfare  of  our 
Fellow-men.  This  also  is  closely  related  to  the  Origi- 
nal Question  touching  the  credentials  of  Christ.  Had 
Gallio  been  concerned  with  reference  to  that  matter, 
he  must  logically  have  proceeded  to  interest  himself 
in  the  good  of  those  about  him;  for  Christ  came  into 
the  world  to  save  men  with  a  great  salvation,  a  salva- 
tion which  should  inevitably  interest  them  profoundly 
in  the  uplifting  of  all.  The  opening  word  of  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  "Our,"  has  in  it  all  the  Magna  Chartas 
and  Declarations  of  Independence  and  manifestoes  of 
civil  and  ecclesiastical  freedom  of  all  history.  The 
doctrine  of  the  Fatherhood  of  God,  as  proclaimed  by 
his  only-begotten  and  well-beloved  Son,  our  Elder 
Brother,  involves  the  complementary  doctrine  of  the 
Brotherhood  of  Men. 

Our  Lord  dwelt  on  the  importance  of  being  a  good 
"  neighbor."  The  word,  however,  hast  lost  much  of 
its  helpful  significance  in  our  modern  life,  and  partic- 
ularly in  great  municipal  centers.  We  scarcely  know 
who  lives  next  door.  The  doctor  comes,  and  we  won- 
der who  is  sick;  there  is  crape  on  the  doorknob,  and 
we  wonder  who  has  died.  Yet  the  teaching  of  Jesus 
is  not  wholly  ineffective,  else  why  the  general  inter- 


338  INDIFFERENT    GALLIC 

est  just  now  in  the  finding  of  a  kidnapped  child  ? 
There  is  scarcely  a  mother  who  is  not  praying  that 
God  will  relieve  the  suspense  of  the  agonized  parents 
concerning  their  little  one.  The  lost  baby  has  be- 
come, in  a  sense,  an  inmate  of  every  home.  This 
sympathy  is  a  tribute  to  the  gospel  of  universal  fel- 
lowship. Had  not  Jesus  taught  us  to  say,  "Our 
Father,"  we  could  scarcely  be  thinking  thus  of  the 
lost  child  as  if  it  were  ours.  It  is  only  in  gospel 
light  that  "one  touch  of  nature  makes  the  whole 
world  kin." 

It  is  the  business  of  Christ's  people  to  concern 
themselves  not  only  with  the  affairs  of  the  neighbor- 
hood, but  in  the  larger  life  of  the  Commonwealth. 
No  man  who  has  caught  the  genius  of  the  Gospel 
can  be  indifferent  to  politics.  It  is  by  reason  of  our 
inadequate  apprehension  of  the  real  principles  of 
Christianity  that  we  are  forced  to  lament  the  present 
lack  of  public  sentiment  as  to  abuses  in  our  munic- 
ipal affairs.  There  are  enough  Christian  people  in 
New  York  to  put  an  end  to  all  prevailing  corruption 
if  only  they  cared  about  it.  The  power  of  an  en- 
lightened public  sentiment  has  been  recently  shown 
in  London,  with  reference  to  the  Sunday  newspaper. 
The  Mail  and  the  Telegraph  began  to  print  Sunday 
editions,  only  to  be  met  by  vigorous  protests  on  every 
hand.  I  know  not  what  measures  were  put  in  opera- 
tion, what  sort  of  sanctified  boycott  was  instituted ; 
it  is  enough  that,  for  some  reason,  both  papers  have 
been  constrained  to  withdraw  their  Sunday  issues. 
Why  is  it  that  there  is  no  corresponding  outburst  of 
Christian  sentiment  in  our  American  cities?  It  can- 
not be  because  there  is  one  standard  as  to  Sabbath 


INDIFFERENT    GALLIC  339 

observance  in  England  and  another  in  America.  It  can 
only  be  on  account  of  a  lamentable  indifference.  We 
know  well  enough  that  the  Sunday  newspaper  is  an 
incalculable  evil  and  a  manifest  violation  of  divine 
law;  yet  we  care  so  little  that  many  among  us  lend 
our  patronage  and  become  accessory  to  the  sin. 

We  find  another  instance  of  culpable  indifference 
on  the  part  of  Christian  people  in  the  matter  of 
universal  Missions.  There  is  no  divergence  of  opinion 
as  to  Christ's  purpose  respecting  the  conversion  of 
the  world.  The  Great  Commission  is  quite  clear, 
and  equally  clear  is  our  duty  concerning  it.  Yet  we 
are  told  that  the  annual  contribution  of  the  Church 
is  only  about  ten  cents  per  capita  for  the  conversion 
of  the  nations.  Was  not  Doctor  Duff  right  when  he 
said,  "We  are  playing  at  Missions?"  The  trouble 
is,  many  among  us  do  not  care  deeply  whether  the 
world  is  converted  or  not,  do  not  care  whether 
Christ's  commission  is  carried  out  or  not,  do  not 
care  whether  his  Kingdom  is  established  on  earth  or 
not.  "Don't  care"  is  preventing  the  advent  of 
Christ.  "Don't  care"  is  responsible  for  the  evils 
that  prevail  in  public  life.  "  Don't  care  "  must  be 
held  to  an  account  for  much  of  the  crime  and  beg- 
gary in  our  streets.  Indifferent  Gallio  blocks  the 
wheels  of  progress  everywhere. 

In  1791  William  Pitt  and  Edmund  Burke,  dining 
together  in  London,  discussed  the  evils  of  the  time. 
The  dangers  of  the  French  Revolution  were  threaten- 
ing England.  Pitt  said,  "  Never  fear,  my  friend, 
you  may  depend  upon  it  we  shall  go  on  as  we  are 
until  the  Day  of  Judgment."  To  which  Burke  re- 
plied, "Very  likely;  but  it  is  the  Day  of  No  Judg- 


34°  INDIFFERENT    GALLIO. 

ment  that  I  am  afraid  of."  And,  indeed,  this  is  the 
ominous  fact.  Men  look  at  great  problems  and  pass 
no  judgment.  They  look  askance  at  great  responsi- 
bilities and  avoid  them.  They  see  the  wounded  trav- 
eler on  the  Bloody  Way  to  Jericho  and  pass  by  on 
the  other  side.  They  care  for  none  of  these  things. 
But  in  the  light  of  the  gospel  and  in  prospect  of  the 
Judgment,  it  is  the  business  of  all  earnest  men,  and 
certainly  of  such  as  profess  to  be  Christians,  to  care 
and  care  profoundly  for  all  things  that  have  to  do 
with  the  welfare  of  men  here  or  hereafter.  Nero  has 
gone  into  history  not  more  for  his  cruelty  and  disso- 
luteness than  for  his  fiddling  while  Rome  was  burn- 
ing. Gallio,  with  all  his  amiable  qualities,  is  yet 
immortalized  only  by  his  culpable  indifference  to 
matters  of  importance  occurring  about  him.  This  is 
the  lesson,  then ;  care  for  truth,  care  for  virtue,  meet 
the  responsibilities  of  your  life,  be  in  earnest.  There 
is  no  neutral  ground  for  earnest  men.  Be  fully  per- 
suaded in  your  own  mind;  and  be  able  to  give  an 
answer  to  every  man  that  asketh  a  reason  for  the 
hope  that  is  in  you. 


THE   BATTLE  OF  THE  TWO  WILLS 

"  Then  cometh  Jesus  with  them  unto  a  place  called  Gethsemane,  and  saith 
unto  the  disciples,  Sit  ye  here,  while  I  go  and  pray  yonder.  And  he  took  with 
him  Peter  and  the  two  sons  of  Zebedee,  and  began  to  be  sorrowful  and  very 
heavy.  Then  saith  he  unto  them,  My  soul  is  exceeding  sorrowful,  even  unto 
death:  tarry  ye  here,  and  watch  with  me.  And  he  went  a  little  farther,  and 
fell  on  his  face,  and  prayed,  saying,  O  my  Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup 
pass  from  me :  nevertheless,  not  as  I  will,  but  as  thou  wilt.  And  he  cometh 
unto  the  disciples,  and  findeth  them  asleep,  and  saith  unto  Peter,  What,  could 
ye  not  watch  with  me  one  hour?  Watch  and  pray,  that  ye  enter  not  into 
temptation  :  the  spirit  indeed  is  willing  but  the  flesh  is  weak.  He  went  away 
again  the  second  time,  and  prayed,  saying,  O  my  Father,  if  this  cup  may  not 
pass  away  from  me,  except  I  drink  it,  thy  will  be  done.  And  he  came  and 
found  them  asleep  again  ;  for  their  eyes  were  heavy.  And  he  left  them,  and 
went  away  again,  and  prayed  the  third  time,  saying  the  same  words.  Then 
cometh  he  to  his  disciples,  and  saith  unto  them,  Sleep  on  now,  and  take  your 
rest :  behold,  the  hour  is  at  hand,  and  the  Son  of  Man  is  betrayed  into  the 
hands  of  sinners.  Rise,  let  us  be  going ;  behold,  he  is  at  hand  that  doth 
betray  me."— Matthew  26,  36-46. 

Let  us  begin  with  a  syllogism.  First  premise: 
God's  will  is  perfect.  Second premise :  God  wills  with 
reference  to  every  man.  Conclusion  :  The  perfect  man 
is  he  whose  will  is  adjusted  to  the  will  of  God. 

And  here  is  the  occasion  of  the  struggle.  What  we 
need  is  to  have  our  wills  brought  into  conformity  to  the 
divine  will;  but,  alas!  though  the  spirit  be  willing  the 
flesh  is  weak.  The  wrestling  of  Jacob  at  the  brook- 
side  "all  night  long  till  break  of  day"  finds  a  sym- 
pathetic response  in  every  earnest  life.  That  was  a 
stern  grappling  of  the  human  and  divine,  each  bent 
on  winning,  each  refusing  to  let  the  other  go.      But 

(341) 


342  THE    BATTLE    OF    THE    TWO    WILLS. 

at  length  omnipotence  touched  the  thigh  of  human 
infirmity  and  its  sinew  shrank;  and  Jacob  went  limp- 
ing away,  triumphant  in  his  defeat;  as  it  is  written, 
"When  I  am  weak  then  am  I  strong."  And  indeed 
no  man  is  successful  in  the  moral  province  until  God 
has  grappled  and  thrown  him ;  that  is,  until  the  hu- 
man is  brought  into  conformity  to  the  divine  will. 
He  who  thus  succumbs  is  crowned  "Israel,"  because 
as  a  prince  he  hath  prevailed  with  God. 

We  observe  a  parallel  also  in  Paul's  record  of  the 
strife  between  the  carnal  and  the  spiritual.  "I  see 
another  law  in  my  members  warring  against  the  law 
of  my  mind  ";  "  for  to  will  is  present  with  me,  but 
how  to  perform  that  which  is  good,  I  find  not. — For 
the  good  that  I  would,  I  do  not:  but  the  evil  that  I 
would  not,  that  I  do. — O  wretched  man  that  I  am! 
Who  shall  deliver  me  from  this  body  of  death  ?  I 
thank  God  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord!"  He 
represents  himself  not  as  one  loving  bondage,  but  as 
a  slave  struggling  to  be  free  yet  desperately  ham- 
pered by  his  chains.  He  knows  his  happiness  lies  in 
his  emancipation ;  yet  he  resists  the  magnanimous 
efforts  of  his  divine  antagonist  to  deliver  him.  He 
can  triumph  only  in  the  shrinking  of  nis  thigh.  Here 
is  the  meaning  of  that  hopeful  cry,  "I  thank  God, 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord!  " 

The  conflict  thus  outlined  in  the  experience  of  Jacob 
and  of  Paul  finds  its  consummation  in  Gethsemane, 
in  Christ  the  representative  Man,  made  in  all  points 
like  as  we  are  only  without  sin.  Here  is  the  Battle 
of  the  Two  Wills  at  its  best  and  fiercest.  The  victory 
of  Christ  is  signal  and  glorious,  finding  expression  in 
the  words,  "  Father,  thy  will  be  done!  " 


THE    BATTLE    OF    THE    TWO    WILLS.  343 

"  Like  him  who  came  and  conquered  there, 

In  that  low  garden, 
So  rise  we  victors  from  our  prayer  ; 

Christ  is  our  warden, 
And  holdeth  crowns  for  us  to  wear. 
'  Thy  will  be  done  ! '  we  bow  and  say  5 

What  cometh  after 
Is  but  the  dawning  of  the  day  ; 

If  tears  or  laughter, 
God's  will  and  ours  move  but  one  way" 

The  key  of  this  mysterious  struggle  in  Gethsemane 
is  this  relation  of  the  human  and  divine  wills.  Here 
is  the  deep  fountain  that  sent  forth  those  piteous  ap- 
peals and  agonized  cries.  Let  us  follow,  as  we  may, 
the  line  of  that  conflict  from  its  beginning  in  the  earthly 
life  of  Jesus  to  the  bitter  hour  when,  in  the  stress  of 
battle,  he  sweat  as  it  were  "great  drops  of  blood." 

I.  The  Advent  of  Christ  was  in  pursuance  of  the  divine 
will.  It  was  God's  purpose,  in  which  Christ  himself 
was  wholly  acquiescent,  that  he  should  go  into  the 
world,  in  fullness  of  time,  and  suffer  and  die  vicari- 
ously for  the  salvation  of  men. 

In  the  sixth  chapter  of  Isaiah  we  are  introduced 
into  the  eternal  councils  of  the  Trinity,  where  a  voice 
is  heard,  "Whom  shall  I  send,  and  who  will  go  for 
us  ?"  The  cry  of  the  ruined  race  for  help  had  come 
up  to  heaven,  and  there  was  no  eye  to  pity  and  no 
arm  to  save.  Should  they  be  left  to  perish  in  their 
sin  ?  Nay  !  ' '  Then  said  I,  '  Here  am  I,  send  me ! '  " 
Is  it  the  prophet  Isaiah  who  thus  volunteers;  or  does 
he  speak  as  the  living  type  of  One  who  should  be 
wounded  for  the  world's  transgressions  and  bruised 
for  its  iniquities,  that  by  his  stripes  the  race  of  sin- 
ners may  be  healed  ? 


544  THE    BATTLE    OF    THE    TWO    WILLS. 

If  the  Messianic  character  of  that  prophecy  be 
questioned,  let  us  interpret  it  by  comparison  with 
another.  In  the  fortieth  Psalm  it  is  written,  "  Sacri- 
fice and  offering  thou  didst  not  desire;  mine  ears 
hast  thou  opened  (that  is,  to  the  cry  of  suffering  hu- 
manity and  to  the  divine  decree  of  salvation).  Burnt 
offering  and  sin  offering  has  thou  not  required.  Then 
said  I.  ;  Lo.  I  come!  in  the  volume  of  the  book  it 
is  written  of  me,  I  delight  to  do  thy  will,  O  my  God ! 
yea,  thy  law  is  within  in  my  heart'."  Here  David 
seems  to  be  speaking  for  himself;  but  is  there  not  a 
deeper  reference  to  David's  greater  Son  ?  Is  he  not 
setting  forth,  out  of  his  own  experience,  a  sweet 
prophecy  of  what  the  Christ  shall  do  in  fullness  of 
time  when,  in  pursuance  of  the  eternal  purpose,  he 
shall  bear  the  world's  sin  in  his  own  body  on  the 
tree  ? 

I:  there  be  still  a  lingering  question  as  to  the  Mes- 
s:=.r.ic  character  of  these  predictions,  let  us  turn  to 
the  tenth  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  where 
the  interpretation  is  made  clear:  "For  the  law  hav- 
ing a  shadow  of  good  things  to  come,  and  not  the 
very  image  of  the  things,  can  never  with  those  sacri- 
fices, which  they  offered  year  by  year  continually, 
make  the  comers  thereunto  perfect  For  it  is  not 
possible  that  the  blood  of  bulis  and  of  goats  should 
take  away  sins.  Wherefore,  u-hen  He  cometh  into  the 
world,  he  saith,  Sacrifice  and  offering  thou  wouldest 
not,  but  a  body  hast  thou  prepared  me:  in  burnt 
offerings  and  sacrifices  for  sin  thou  hast  had  no  pleas- 
ure. Then  said  I,  Lo,  I  come  (in  the  volume  of  the 
book   it  :en  of  me)   to  do   thy  will,  O   God. 

ve  when  he  said,  '  Sacrifice  and  offering  and  burnt 


THE   BATTLE    OF    THE    TWO    WILLS.  345 

offerings  and  offering  for  sin  thou  wouldest  not, 
neither  hadst  pleasure  therein ;  which  are  offered  by 
the  law ' ;  then  said  he,  '  Lo,  I  come  to  do  thy  will, 
O  God  ! '  He  taketh  away  the  first  that  he  may  estab- 
lish the  second.  By  the  which  will  we  are  sanctified 
through  the  offering  of  the  body  of  Jesus  Christ  once 
for  all." 

II.   The  Life  and  Ministry  of  Jesus  Chris:  -  ■  ully 

in  line  with  this  expression  of  the  divine  will.  We  have 
seen  that  he  came  into  the  world  in  pursuance  of  an 
eternal  decree  respecting  his  redemptive  work.  He 
girt  himself  with  omnipotence,  bound  on  the  sandals 
of  the  preparation  of  the  gospel,  and  went  forth  from 
heaven  as  the  knight-errant  of  the  ruined  race.  He 
next  appears  in  the  incarnation;  a  Child  lying  in  a 
manger.  Great  is  the  mystery  of  godliness,  God 
is  manifest  in  flesh! 

And  from  that  point  onward  his  life  ran  parallel  to 
the  great  purpose.  When  his  enemies  called  his  cre- 
dentials in  question  he  defended  himself  in  these 
words:  M  I  seek  not  mine  own  will,  but  the  will  of  the 
Father  which  hath  sent  me."  (John  5.  30.) 

At  the  age  of  twelve  years  he  was  found  in  the  tem- 
ple, sitting  among  the  doctors,  probably  reasoning 
with  them  out  of  the  Scriptures  concerning  this 
divine  purpose  of  redemption.  On  being  reproved 
by  his  parents  he  replied.  "Wist  ye  not  that  I  most 
be  about  my  Father's  business  '  Thus  it  appears 
that  from  the  very-  beginning  he  recognized  his 
was  familiar  with  the  divine  plan  and  was  resolved  to 
pursue  it. 

At  the  outset  of  his  ministry  he  was  led  of  the 
Spirit  into  the  wilderness  to  be  tempted.     The  stress 


346  THE   BATTLE   OF   THE   TWO   WILLS. 

of  that  temptation  was  to  divert  him  from  his  inten- 
tion of  dying  for  the  children  of  men.  It  closed  with 
an  offer  which  profoundly  appealed  to  his  natural 
aversion  to  death.  The  adversary,  taking  him  up  into 
an  high  mountain,  showed  him,  as  with  a  wave  of  the 
hand,  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  and  said,  "  I  am 
the  prince  of  this  world.  I  know  thy  purpose:  how 
thou  comest  to  set  up  thy  kingdom  by  the  power  of 
the  cross.  But  why  shouldst  thou  suffer  and  die  ? 
These  kingdoms  are  mine.  One  act  of  homage  and 
I  will  abdicate!  Fall  down  and  worship  me  and  thou 
shalt  have  them  all. "  But  to  that  alluring  suggestion 
the  Lord  made  answer,  "It  is  written!"  that  is,  the 
plan  has  been  eternally  marked  out  and  there  can  be 
no  other  way.  He  thus  kept  himself  in  line  with  the 
great  purpose,  even  in  that  bitterest  hour;  "and,  be- 
hold, angels  came  and  ministered  unto  him." 

He  sat  upon  the  curb  of  Jacob's  well,  near  to 
Sychar,  while  his  disciples  went  into  the  city  to  buy 
food.  On  their  return  they  found  him  talking  with 
an  abandoned  woman  concerning  the  great  truths  of 
the  endless  life.  "  Master,  eat, "  they  said :  he  replied, 
"I  have  meat  to  eat  that  ye  know  not  of."  Seeing 
their  look  of  wonder,  he  continued,  ' '  My  meat  is  to  do 
the  will  of  him  that  sent  me  and  to  finish  his  work." 

To  do  God's  will, — that  was  the  sole  end  and  aim 
of  that  wonderful  life.  But  to  keep  himself  thus  in 
sympathy  with  the  divine  will  involved  constant 
struggle,  else  he  would  not  be  a  man.  As  a  man,  he 
had  a  sovereign  will,  the  only  difference  between  his 
will  and  ours  being  that  his  was  unfettered  by  sin. 
As  a  man  like  ourselves,  his  will  must  needs  be  re- 
sponsive to   his  senses.     When  he  was  an  hungered 


THE    BATTLE    OF    THE    TWO    WILLS.  347 

and  the  flesh  cried  "Eat,"  he  answered,  "I  will." 
At  the  close  of  a  weary  day  in  his  carpenter-shop, 
when  nerves  and  sinews  cried  "  Rest,"  he  answered, 
"  I  will,"  and  laid  himself  down  to  sleep.  And  being 
constituted  in  all  points  as  other  men  are,  sin  only 
excepted,  he  must  have  shared  with  us  in  the  universal 
dread  of  suffering  and  death.  This  brings  us  to 
Gethsemane,  where  we  view  the  strenuous  shock  and 
crisis  of  the  battle. 

III.  The  thickening  struggle  is  seen  in  Christ's  approach 
to  his  cross.  As  the  end  drew  near  he  set  forth  on  his 
last  journey  to  Jerusalem.  At  Caesarea-Philippi  he 
discoursed  with  his  disciples  concerning  the  decease 
which  he  was  presently  to  accomplish;  he  told  them 
plainly  that  he  must  suffer  and  die.  Chill  as  winter 
and  dark  as  an  Egyptian  night  fell  the  shadow  of  the 
cross  over  him.  Little  wonder  that  he  was  "  very 
sorrowful."  He  was  himself  without  sin,  but  the 
world's  burden  was  upon  him.  On  reaching  Jerusa- 
lem he  had  much  to  say,  through  Passion  Week,  of 
his  sufferings  and  death.  His  voice  in  the  upper 
room  had  all  the  tender  pathos  of  a  mother's  farewell 
to  her  dear  ones.  The  night  closes  more  and  more 
densely  about  him  until,  at  length,  taking  with  him 
the  three  chosen,  he  comes  to  the  garden  of  Geth- 
semane. "  Tarry  ye  here,"  he  says  to  them,  "  while 
I  go  yonder  and  pray." 

And  there  under  the  shadow  of  the  olive  trees  the 
great  struggle  was  fought  to  a  finish.  The  purple 
cup  of  death  was  pressed  to  his  lips.  He  knew  what 
it  meant:  the  shame,  the  anguish,  the  awful  gloom 
at  noonday,  the  abandonment  of  friends,  the  momen- 
tary taste  of  hell  in  the  hiding  of  his  Father's  face, 


348  THE    BATTLE   OF    THE    TWO    WILLS. 

the  heartbreak  of  sorrow  for  others'  sin — these  were 
in  that  bitter  cup.  He  would  have  been  less  than  a 
man  had  he  not  shuddered;  less  than  a  man  had  he 
not  cried,  "O  my  Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this 
cup  pass  from  me."  He  wrestled  like  Jacob  at  the 
brook.  He  struggled  like  Paul  in  the  grip  of  Death, 
crying,  "  Who  shall  deliver  me  ?  "  He  moaned,  "My 
soul  is  exceeding  sorrowful."  He  fell  upon  his 
face  in  anguish.  His  "sweat  was  as  it  were  great 
drops  of  blood."  But  he  won!  Knowing  that  the 
drinking  of  that  cup  was  necessary  to  salvation,  he 
drank  it  to  its  dregs,  saying,  "O  my  Father,  if  this 
cup  may  not  pass  away  from  me,  except  I  drink  it, 
thy  will  be  done."  So  he  became  obedient  unto 
death  for  us.  He  won  the  victory;  and  he  won  it  as 
our  representative.  O  blessed  Christ,  thou  canst  be 
touched  with  a  feeling  of  our  infirmity!  Thou  know- 
est  what  it  is  to  face  the  King  of  Terrors!  Thou 
knowest  what  it  is  to  close  in  with  a  most  divine  and 
gracious  purpose  while  the  flesh  shrinks  and  quivers. 
Thou  hast  fought  even  through  the  Valley  of  the 
Shadow  for  us!  Thou  wast  "  exceeding  sorrowful" 
and  "  sore  amazed  "  and  "very  heavy  "  at  the  visage 
of  Death:  but  thou  didst  conquer;  and  conquest 
now  is  possible  for  us  "through  Christ  which 
strengtheneth  us." 

All  was  easy  after  that.  There  could  be  no  further 
resistance.  The  sword  of  Peter  flashed  from  its  scab- 
bard to  defend  him  from  his  adversaries;  but  he  said, 
"Put  up  thy  sword  into  the  sheath":  and  to  those 
who  sought  him  he  said,  "  I  am  he."  He  could  have 
swept  them  away  with  a  breath  from  his  nostrils,  but 
his  path  was  marked  out.     "  He  was  led  as  a  lamb  to 


THE    BATTLE    OF    THE    TWO    WILLS.  349 

the  slaughter  and  as  a  sheep  before  her  shearers  is 
dumb,  so  he  opened  not  his  mouth."  He  ran  through 
Via  Dolorosa  with  willing  feet,  his  heart  singing, 
"In  the  volume  of  the  book  it  is  written  of  me;  'I 
rejoice  to  do  thy  will.'"  They  nailed  him  to  his 
cross  and  he  struggled  not.  His  soul  was  saying, 
"Even  so,  Father,  for  so  it  seemeth  good  in  thy 
sight."  They  lifted  him  up  between  heaven  and 
earth  and  mocked  his  anguish.  "  Come  down,"  they 
cried,  "if  thou  be  the  Christ!"  But  he  could  not 
come  down,  since  he  was  serving  the  divine  will.  He 
suffered  on,  like  an  unhorsed  knight  trudging  to  his 
destination.  Legions  of  angels  were  hovering  over 
his  cross  ready,  at  a  word  from  those  parched  lips,  to 
draw  the  nails  and  bear  him  to  his  throne;  but  every 
fevered  drop  of  blood  and  every  quivering  nerve  cried 
out,  "  O  God,  thy  will  be  done!  "  At  the  end  he  said 
with  a  loud  voice,  like  one  who  stands  on  the  parapet, 
mortally  wounded  but  victorious,  "It  is  finished!" 
And  thus  was  the  world  saved,  by  the  blending  of 
the  will  of  Jesus  with  the  perfect  will  of  God. 

The  lesson  is  clear.  The  perfect  man  is  he  who 
lives  the  Christlike  life.  The  crossing  of  the  two 
wills  is  sin;  the  blending  of  the  two  wills  is  victory 
over  sin.  He  who  knows  his  own  Gethsemane  has 
found  the  peace  that  passeth  understanding  and  can 
sing,  whatever  comes, 

I  worship  Thee,  sweet  Will  of  God, 

And  all  Thy  ways  adore  ; 
And  every  day  I  live,  I  seem 

To  love  Thee  more  and  more. 
I  love  to  kiss  each  print  where  Thou 

Hast  set  Thine  unseen  feet: 


35°  THE    BATTLE    OF    THE    TWO    WILLS. 

I  cannot  fear  Thee,  blessed  Will, 

Thine  empire  is  so  sweet. 
I  have  no  cares,  O  blessed  Will, 

For  all  my  cares  are  Thine  ; 
I  live  in  triumph,  Lord,  for  Thou 

Hast  made  Thy  triumphs  mine. 
Ill  that  He  blesses  is  our  good, 

And  unblest  good  is  ill ; 
And  all  is  right  that  seems  most  wrong, 

If  it  be  His  dear  will. 

The  best  definition  of  a  Christian  is  that  which 
Christ  himself  has  given;  "Not  every  one  that  saith 
unto  me,  'Lord,  Lord,'  shall  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,  but  he  that  doeth  the  will  of  my  Father 
which  is  in  heaven." 

The  secret  of  an  earnest  life  is  in  the  exhortation  of 
Paul:  "I  beseech  you,  brethren,  by  the  mercies  of 
God,  that  ye  present  your  bodies  a  living  sacrifice, 
holy,  acceptable  unto  God,  which  is  your  reasonable 
service.  And  be  ye  not  conformed  to  this  world:  but 
be  ye  transformed  by  the  renewing  of  your  mind, 
that  ye  may  prove  what  is  that  good,  and  acceptable  and 
perfect  Will  of  God." 

And  the  consummation  of  life  is  reached  when  we 
can  pray  as  Christ  has  taught  us,  saying,  "Our  Father 
who  art  in  heaven,  thy  will  be  done." 


1101201028  6823 


